River was exactly twenty-four feet and five inches off the floor of Serenity, dangling by her hands from the bottom railing of the catwalk. Next to her was Kaylee, bright red and gasping.
It was a contest; something that they were trying after Kaylee had seen it on the Cortex.
"I'm stronger than you!" Kaylee gasped out. River smiled to herself. Kaylee couldn't beat her if she tried. River could hang for eighteen hours, thirty-three minutes, and five seconds before she lost her grip and fell.
With a gasp, Kaylee's hands slipped from the railing, and she plunged downward. She stopped with a jerk, her safety harness catching her five feet off the floor. She grinned up at River, silently wondering how while she was red, sweaty, and sore, River looked like she had just woken up from a long, refreshing sleep. With a smile and a soft sigh, River released the railing and fell until she felt her safety harness stop her with a jerk.
"Beat you." She said, smiling happily at Kaylee.
Kaylee grinned back.
"Just wait until next time," she threatened playfully, "Then we'll see who's better."
"There won't be a next time if you kill yourselves trying to prove who's better!" Glancing up, River saw Mal standing on the catwalk, arms crossed. But she could see through the frown on his face. He was happy that they were playing. No matter how hard he tried to hide his thoughts, River could always find them.
"I see you." She said, hoping that he would understand. He didn't.
"I see you to little darling," he said, a bemused expression on his face. "But when I come back in ten minutes, all I had better see is an empty ship and a mechanic in the engine room." He said, directing the last few words to Kaylee. She grinned sunnily up at him, and unhooked her harness, falling gently to the ground below.
"Aye-aye Captain Tightpants." River watched Kaylee vanish into the kitchen, the turned to look at Mal.
"Dorothy wants to go back to Kansas." She said calmly. Mal looked startled. He opened his mouth to ask a question, and then thought better of it. With a shrug, he walked off to find Jayne.
River pushed her feet into the air and rotated her body until she was hanging upside down, her long brown hair just brushing the floor.
She smiled softly to her self. "Two by two, hands of blue. They're coming for me, but they've found you."
She released the harness and dropped to the floor, throwing her hands up at the last moment to stop herself fro hitting her head. Righting herself, she wandered into the kitchen to have a snack.