Reminder: Joss/Mutant Enemy/a bunch of other people are the owners of Firefly, not me.

...Pieces of a Theory

"Dimensions have shifted. Pieces don't fit," murmured River as she looked into the mirror. Inara laughed at the girl's realization.

"That is what happens, River." She bought the dress before the girl had any idea of what was happening. Their time on Persephone was once again being taken up with shopping, while Simon and Kaylee had the ship to themselves and Mal, Zoe and Jayne were out discussing business with Badger.

Inara thought that it would do the men good to understand that River was no longer the broken child she had been when she came to Serenity.

The ghost of a sound behind him caused Mal to turn. As he had half expected, his pilot stood there. But there was something different about her. He thought it might be the dress, it looked a bit too hindering to be one of her normal ones. Then he noticed the strangely bold look in her eye, the look he only had seen a few times before.

"Pieces don't fit." Her proclamation startled him. A quick glance around Serenity with no obvious reasons for her comment led his gaze back to her eyes.

"Pieces don't fit." She said again, this time twisting a corner of her dress in her hands. He looked at the dress more closely. Judging by the style, Inara had a hand in its presence on his ship. But as far as he could tell, all the pieces fit fine.

"Um… it looks alright." He hazarded. One never quite knew where they stood with his pilot when she was having one of her moments. She shook her head at him, as if he were missing something very important.

"Pieces here." She pointed to her head. "Glued them together, but they don't fit. Picked up more." Mal found his pilot to be quite creepifying at moments, and this was one of them.

"Must run experimentation to find the proper name."

River leaned in towards the captain, intent on her stated goal. The experiments must be run in order to determine the validity of her theory. Normally River had a aversion to experiments, but an exception could be made.

Gently, she slid her mouth over his.

Mal reeled. Nothing could have prepared him for River's intense gaze on his and the memory of the feel of her lips on his. He gulped once, and then again, trying to dispel the thoughts that were buzzing around his head.

"Listen, River, I'm honored. But, your brother's a mighty fine surgeon and I don't fancy dyin' on his table anytime soon." The click of a highly polished, well made shoe behind him made him turn away from the bewitching girl in front of him.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Captain."

Simon glared at the man he had trusted with his own life on many occasions, the man that he owed his sister's continued existence to. And for just a moment, he wanted nothing more than to see him bleed. For River's sake, he stilled his fists. He knew it was not exactly the captain's fault. He had seen the scene unfold.

"All the dams broke. Floodwaters rose. The River got washed away…" Her voice was urgent, pleading with him. He saw the frustration, the annoyance in every line of her body as she struggled to communicate past the riddles.

"River, calm down." His voice was soothing. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, still glaring at the captain.

"Had to test the piece, to see if it was valid. Had to test the theory."

"What theory, River?" The tone was coaxing, relaxing. But the girl was sifting through her thoughts, finding the words to finish the phrase. When she found them, she let only herself and Serenity hear.

Had to test the theory to prove it to be law. Had to test attraction to prove it to be love.

Mal watched the Tam siblings move off in the direction of River's room. For a split second, when River's lips met his, he could have sworn he saw something. A brief flash of an image. But that was ridiculous, the girl was givin' everyone notions, dangerous notions.

River smiled as she fell asleep, remembering a half seen picture of the captain's laughing face, and his hand caressing her shoulder as she flew Serenity through the expanse of the Black.

…Author's Note:

I felt like trying something different. Firefly has been one of my favourite shows for awhile now, so I had to experiment a little myself. I'm not sure if I'll write any more fictions for it or not. For some reason, after reading a few fanfictions with this pairing, I had to try it out for myself.

Reviews are very welcome, I also accept flames, comments and questions.