River made her way to the cargo bay, her graceful steps making no sound on the metal floor of Serenity. Standing at the doorway that led to the infirmary, she looked around. Beneath the stairs was Jayne, laying on his workbench and lifting weights, completely in his own little world. A soft smile graced her lips.
Ignoring him, she went over to one of the stacks of crates that were the side-effect of their most recent job. River placed the Audit on top of the stack, the small device holding several musical numbers that were mainly classical.
She pressed a button, and her favourite track came on immediately. Going to the centre of the cargo bay, she noticed Jayne look up at her, a confused look on his face.
Her smile returning, she closed her eyes.
River waited for the quiet introduction to finish, and as the song began to form its earliest crescendo, she rose up onto her toes, for once encased in shoes. The ballet pumps were worn, but they were soft and melded comfortably to her feet.
She lost herself to the music and her dance. She spun and pirouetted, her lean body welcoming the exercise it had long yearned for. Her flexible limbs creating beautiful tableaus as she went from one move to the other.
She'd missed this so much.
Eventually, the song wound itself down. Returning to her original position, River finally opened her eyes.
Her brother was standing at the doorway that led to the infirmary, a smile on his face. In the corner of her eye, she saw Jayne staring at her with a look she'd not seen from him before – at least, not one directed at her.
River smiled back at her brother and relaxed her feet. He walked over to her while she grabbed her Audit to turn it off.
"You're dancing again," Simon said, his voice soft.
"Again, you point out the obvious," she replied.
He ignored her comment. "It's good that you are."
"I've missed it."
"Why haven't you done so before? I mean, since I freed you, you've had more than enough chance to."
"My body may have been free," River said, looking Simon straight in the eye. "But my mind was not. Miranda helped me with that. I can lose myself in the music now, without fear."
Simon smiled. "I'm glad you can."
"Me too."