A/N: Technically an AU. Disregards comic and BDM. Rather, a continuation of the series after Obects in Space.
Don't own any of 'em.
"Astronomy Lesson" Part 1
"River?" Simon called tentatively as he limped through the kitchen. The surgeon in him knew that it was much too soon to be putting weight on his leg, but his brotherly worries had pulled him out of bed. He'd been dozing, vainly trying to sleep through the throbbing ache of his wound. A little before midnight, he'd started at the sound of River's door. He considered simply rolling over and letting her go—after all, his sister had a habit of taking night walks. However, the stress of the past two days made Simon want to keep her close by.
After twenty minutes of slow, laborious searching, Simon was having a nagging sense of déjà vu. No bounty hunter tonight, no, but the whole situation was becoming a bit too familiar. For a split second he considered how Early must have felt last night, looking high and low for River. Well, the bounty hunter had at least been able to put weight on his leg; Simon's wound was not making things easy. Using chairs to bear some of his weight, Simon made his way across the floor. He thought ruefully of all the days he'd simply run from infirmary to bridge. This gunshot wound was giving a whole new sense of Serenity's scale.
As Simon made his way, painfully slow, through the corridor, he heard the distinctive laughter of his little sister. Grateful to end his search, he limped up the last few stairs.
River sat in the pilot's chair, giggling as Wash reenacted a story with his dinosaurs. Pretending not to notice her brother, River eyed the pilot seriously.
"Tyrannosaurus Rex does not, in any way, resemble a Big Bear."
"This is true," Wash replied, brandishing his toy, "but there's only so much room on Serenity. I had to make a very difficult choice: dinosaurs or zoo animals."
"Why the terrible lizards?" River giggled.
"Because," Wash considered for a moment, "the terrible lizards are terribly manly."
Simon shook his head.
"I hope you aren't keeping him up, River." The pilot jumped at the voice, but River merely rolled her eyes.
"No, Simon."
Silence.
"I couldn't sleep, Doc," Wash finally said, "She found me up here. We've been keeping each other company."
River stood and helped Simon into the chair.
"Shouldn't bear weight on it," she reprimanded.
"No, meimei, but I was worried about you," Simon explained. River pulled back from him, hair falling in front of her eyes. Their quiet made Wash's skin crawl.
"Hey, ah…River! River, why don't you tell Simon all about the Big Bear."
Half-heartedly, River held up the t-rex.
"Told the seasons. Planting, growing harvesting, dying." She set it down again. "An adolescent female requires, on average, eight to ten hours of sleep."
Simon watched his sister stalk away, suddenly wearied. He turned back to Wash and shook his head.
"I didn't mean it like that. She just—" Wash nodded. "She just takes responsibility for things outside her control."
"Maybe she's just feeling vulnerable after yesterday's…excitement. I mean, I'm still having trouble dealing with it, and nobody's ever opened up my head before. River's got a lot on her plate; she's been quite shortchanged in the brain depart—"
"I'm fully aware of that, Wash," Simon sighed. Wash turned to leave.
"Just wanted you to know that you're not the only one who sees it."
Simon watched helplessly as Wash closed the door behind him.
"Great. Now what am I supposed to do?"