Without that part, the whole just won't work
By Daughter of the Black
Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly or Serenity; I am not making any money etc.
Chapter One
Authors Note: This takes place after the movie Serenity, only Wash did not die, Book did, but not Wash.
Firefly Serenity gently lowered onto Shadow, Mal had been reluctant to go there, but work was work. Badger had cargo that needed delivery, and Mal and his crew had been closest. Mal was lost in his own thoughts, and did not hear the girl come up behind him.
"You should go see her," the strange girl said.
Mal nearly jumped, "River, little one, you been walking around in my head?"
River smiled, "No Capt'n, you just think too loud is all."
Mal was about to reply that he was not thinking too loud at all, when Wash's voice crackled through the air, "We are landing of Shadow now. We will be about five minutes out of a town. Zoe has got the mule all ready."
Everyone began to assemble in the bay, and the brown haired, gray eyed Captain Malcolm Reynolds sat in the passenger seat in the mule, "Jayne, Zoe, you're with me. Doc, River, Kaylee, Inara, Wash, just stay on the ship, we shouldn't have problems with this drop. We shouldn't be more than half and hour, and when we get back, we all can go to town. Alright, let's go, behave children."
Zoe Washburn, Jayne Cobb, and Mal left the rest of Serenity's crew standing in the cargo bay of the spaceship. Doctor Simon Tam hung tightly to his brown-eyed sister River's arm, Kaylee, the mechanic waved a grease stained, gloved hand at the threesome. On the bridge, Zoe's husband Hobban, commonly called Wash sat in his pilot's chair, pushing buttons on the huge control panel. The beautiful companion named Inara Serra sat in her shuttle, calmly making tea while praying for her friends.
The girl who everyone was slightly frightened of stood behind a set of stairs, she watched everyone, though no one knew she saw them. Simon quickly kissing Kaylee, Wash playing with his toy dinosaurs, Inara searching for new clients, and Serenity, Serenity was happy to have someone who knew as much as she did. When River hid, no one could find her. She knew that Serenity wouldn't tell, even if Mal could understand Serenity as River did. They had a unique relationship; Serenity was like an archive of memories, almost not all of them were hers. River too had memories that she did not remember, or that she did not know the people in them.
River moved silently, her long brunette hair falling into her face and hiding her brown eyes that swirled, never seeming to be the same shade twice. Old loose clothing covered her very pale skin, and she looked so harmless. You could not see her shapely figure underneath a thick sweater, and a floor length skirt, the gray of the fabric only made her seem less physical. The only truly precise thing about her being, were long perfect fingernails. Like a ghost, she seemed to float through the halls, and down the stairs, although she wore heavy combat boots that were too big for her. Many of the crew wondered just how they stayed on her feet and still managed to walk as if she was barefoot. River wandered around the boat, and caressed the metal in places, she found herself back in the cargo bay after a time.
The crew had gone their separate ways to wait for Mal's return, when the mule finally came into the bay; River was hiding behind a crate, wedged in a corner. She did not move, when the others assembled to go to town, she slipped unseen out of her spot to stand in Mal's shadow. Her presence observed, but not remarked upon. River walked silently, behind the group, everyone else chatted except for two men, Jayne and Mal. Jayne just didn't use his words much, but his actions certainly did. Mal however, usually talked a little at least, but River seemed to be the only one besides Zoe who seemed to notice or know why he was unspoken. Zoe of course knew that this was his mother's home, and that he had never really gone back, ever. However, she did not know that River knew, and certainly, she wasn't going to approach the captain, he could bite when he wanted to, and Zoe knew his family was a sore spot.
The town was more like an oasis, cobbled stones made the road, and green grassy pastures full of flowers could be seen. It was warm here, and the sun shone down on the people. Everyone had a shadow, and everyone was laughing and talking, it was a prosperous place, expensive wares, and stylish shops lined the road. River immediately noticed the one odd thing about the place, there was not a single form of law enforcement here. Not a sheriff, nor alliance, it was a haven. This place was self-made, this world had bloomed on its own, it was no core planet, but it had none of that artificial coldness. River like it here, it was warm and shiny, even she the shadow, had a shadow.
Everyone split off; even Simon wandered away, but kept an eye on river, soon, only Mal stood in the same vicinity as River. He was tall, and easy to spot, and was muscular, not so much as Jayne, but still very strong. He seemed to be staring into the distance, and did not hear River mumbling. She did not really pay attention to what she said; only that she kept muttering something about fate. Jayne was looking at the food stalls, Inara, Kaylee, and Simon had wandered down to look at the fabrics, while Wash and Zoe had wandered off with no real destination. River sat on the fountains edge, and watched as the water fell, and rippled the surface of the water. She glanced down at her feet and started to scream, that was all she could do, that and draw her legs and skirt up onto the ledge. Her scream just kept ripping through the air, and only Simon had ever heard her scream like this before.
Sorry, Cliffhanger, I absolutely love Firefly, and this is my first try at a story. If you like, the story or you do not please read and review. More to come, this is only the first chapter. I really want to know what you think, and where you think I should take this story.