Chapter 8

Mal and Zoe twisted off their helmets and Jayne bumped into Simon none too gently as he pushed past him to put up his suit, eager for solitary.

“Wash, time to go.” Mal directed at Wash, who was walking through the door.

“Ten Four Captain. Any particular course?” Wash’s voice echoed throughout the room.

“Somewhere…not here, for now.” Mal pursed his lips together and looked over at Simon sorting through the medicines.

“Our fuel cells won’t hold out much longer. Maybe got two, three days max long as we don’t push her too hard.” At the Captain’s nod, he turned and headed back up for the bridge.

Mal turned to Simon and said, “Doc, you take what you need and then let me know what we got. Zoe, send a WAVE to Brennert, see if he’s got a mind to deal.”

“Yes sir.” Zoe stowed her suit and then left the cargo bay.

Mal put his suit away and left Simon to his task at hand. As he moved to enter the common area River stood in the doorway unmoving and stared up at Mal. He huffed and opened his mouth to ask her to move when she piped up. “The lights on the tree went out. They’re dim now.”

Mal turned his face up into a comical uh huh and then she continued very seriously, as if she were consoling him, “Don’t worry, the light will come back. It just got too hot.”

Mal stood unblinking at her for the span of several seconds before nodding and adding, “Good to know.”

He moved closer to the doorway and River stepped aside to let him pass through. She watched him as he walked past the infirmary.

********

Inara gently switched off the monitor and pulled the fabric back over her cortex screen slowly; her mind racing.

“I could just leave.” She thought to herself. “I could leave and then they wouldn’t have to deal with…they wouldn’t have to know. I could spare them.”

She stood and turned around to see River sitting calmly on her bed.

“River. Sweetie?”

River sat with her hands in her lap and her head bent to the left with a far away look in her eyes. Inara noticed something almost li