River put her hands on the helm and flicked the three switches above her head and to the right. It had been just yesterday that Serenity had told her of their true use, and the truth had made Rivers insides hurt just from laughing. It brought a smile to her face, using those three switches, and reminded her of her friend that had sat in this same very chair, truly, only months before.
As home rose into the sky, and River piloted it out of atmo and into the void of space, the lights on the panel to her right blinked and sputtered in and out of time. River knew their rhythm like her own heartbeat, and her fingers drummed on the console their melody as it sang in her head. Three switches indeed. Serenity had revealed their use as nothing more than a light show. But it was for Wash that River kept using them. And it was for Wash that River had kept her mouth shut when she had heard the thought running over and over through Zoë's mind, 'Oh God, Oh God, Oh God…' she kept playing, like a broken record player, 'A baby? By myself?'
The first time it popped out of her brain, River had heard it. And as soon as she did, the look Zoë gave her was one of warning. If any other crewmember found out about it, the ship would go topsy-turvy. The thought of all the pink Kaylee would put around when they finally found out it was a girl, was enough to keep River's mouth shut.
The Captain stepped onto the bridge just as River popped on Autopilot and turned off the three switches, their waltz now paused as the ship slid calmly through the darkness.
"River, how many times do I have to tell you to clear up the gorram bridge?" Mal demanded. He spread his arms wide as he spoke, and River repressed a giggle. It was funny how he tried to make himself look bigger than he was, as if his small size in anyway reflected his knowledge and skill. Sure, he wasn't as muscular as Jayne, but the way he commanded authority made up for that fact easily.
River shrugged, "Kaylee made the mess, I'm not going to ruin her hard work." And it was, indeed, Kaylee's handiwork that had left wires and cable exposed beneath what should have been the floor, stated as such because the grated tiles were thrown to one side.
"Hard work?" he gestured to the massive chasm of missing floor beneath himself and the petite brunette. "Jing Chai. Now ripping the ship apart is hard work. I want you and her to get the ship all pretty-like again before we reach Saint Albans, dohn-ma?" His pilot nodded and the Captain did so in return, his expression softening. "You know, you've done a real good job here, River. That was some fancy flyin' you did back on Jiangyin the other day, I thought for sure we were humped."
River laughed, "You're safe with me Captain. I have a great team helping me."
"Oh yes, Little Kaylee never has let us down."
River shook her head. "You're wrong. Its not Kaylee."
Mal blinked and just stared at the Stegosaurus and the Tyrannosaurus Rex, now staring at him from River's hands. "I- …right," he remarks, and as he turned away, River could hear him muttering, "Rung Tse Fwo Tzoo Bao Yo Wuo Muhn:" Merciful Buddha, protect us.