This is a Firefly/Buffy crossover. I own neither of these shows so don't sue me I have no money.

A Friend in need

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else.

Charles Dickens

"Buffy watch out, there is another one behind you." Willow screamed to her best friend. Buffy whipped around just in time to stake the vampire that had managed to sneak up behind her during the fight. Buffy, Willow, and Xander were all studying when the vampire suddenly attack them. Of course they were studying in a grave yard. It had been Buffy idea that Willow and Xander help her study while she slays vamps. Really it was just Willow who was helping her study and Xander was there to make the odd remarks every now and then. Tonight had been a busy night, they had covered major events in American history, math, chemistry, and had manages to kill 11 vamps. Over all Buffy was pretty pleased with herself which may have been why she didn't hear that last vamp. None of them did and where he got that knife would plague Buffy dreams for years to come. After Willow had warned Buffy of the one sneaking up behind her she was turning back to her friend with a wide smile on her face.

"Thanks Will." Buffy started to say but never got it out for at that exact moment Buffy saw a knife plunge beep into Willow's back. The world seemed to slow down for Buffy at this point. Willow screams of pain filled her ears and off in her side view she saw Xander run up to their fallen friend. But Buffy herself was frozen to the spot she stood on. All she could do was look in to her best friends eyes. And she saw it all. The look of Willow eyes that night would never leave Buffy completely, years later when she'd look in the mirror sometime she would see though eyes she saw that night looking back at her the way they were doing now. She saw the exact moment when the pain hit Willow, Willow eyes grown big and her mouth formed in an O. And it was in that moment Willows eyes said it all. They showed Buffy the pain of the wound, the fear of death, and the sadness of leaving the world when she was just starting to truly live. It was in that moment that Buffy saw the first time she met Willow, what a shy girl she had been and how much she had grown over the next couple of month. Buffy hadn't even know Willow and Xander more then a few month at this point but she felt as if they were the best friends she could ever have.

"Buffy help!" Xander yelled shaking Buffy out of the trance she had been in. She rushed over to Willow side seeing her friends clothing were already soak in blood Buffy knew they had to act fast. Unlucky for them none of the three owned a cell phone so Buffy suggest they take her to Giles' house which was the closes to the grave yard. The vamp which had stab Willow had disappeared into the night and as much as Buffy would have love to chase it down and teach it that you don't mess with the slayers friends, Willows wounds came first.

By the time they made the coupe blocks it took to get to Giles' house Willow's breathe where shallow and very slow. Giles answer the knocks on his door right away and seeing Willow stated lend them into the living room. Xander had carry Willow the whole way not allowing Buffy to help. In a way Buffy know Xander loved Willow in the way Willow had always hope but the fact that see was always their made it blind to Xander eyes.

"We should call 911" Xander said once he had set Willow carefully down on the sofa. Willow groaned showing that she was still alive which was reassuring but also remained them that they were quickly running out of time.

"No she too far gone. Lost too much blood, and it looks like the knife hit her lung she'd just die on the way there." Giles said while looking through some book that were piled on his desk.

"Then what do we do? Watch her die?" Buffy ask angrily. She didn't like feeling helpless and watching Willow slowly die when there nothing at all she could was about the worst feeling in the world.

"I have an idea. It's a spell which will freeze her in time so to say, it will give us a chance to find a way to save her. It will be like she die all thing in her body will stop working but the spell will protect her brain, her body, and her soul. She wouldn't age and when the spell is removes she will start to live again like the spell was never put on her. It will give us time, time we right now don't have." Giles informed the two friends. Buffy and Xander looked at each other and then to Giles.

"Well then let's do it, why are we wasting time?" Xander said as Willow began to cough. She must have cough for a whole minute or a lest that what it seemed to be to Buffy and the other and when she was done her lips were covered in blood, it look like Giles was right the knife did hit her lungs.

"Its not that easy we need two archers for her in order for the spell to work." Giles explain quietly knowing how much time they had left her also know what answer he would get from the two friend he just hope that they knew what they were offering by doing this.

"You got you two archers right here, Me and Xander, now do it." Buffy said in a voice that left no room for any more talking. So the spell was done and Willow life was saved and stopped at the same time.

Much later in time: Entering in to planet Ray-10

"Tell me again why we're setting down on this godforsaken place." Jayne asks looking out the bridge window to the planet in which they were about to land on. Ray-10 was a desert planet complete covered in sand. It was because of the lack of water that hardly anyone lived on that hump of rock.

"Well gee Jayne I don't know. I thought hey desert, there sand we could have fun here." Wash said in a mocking voice which got him a killer look from Jayne, luckily looks couldn't kill for if they could Wash be dead more time then can be counted.

"We're here cause this is where the person who giving us a ton of money wants to meet us." Mal said as he entered on the bridge. "Now Jayne meet me and Zoë down in the cargo bay we got a job to do." And with that Mal walked off the bridge.

The cargo bay itself was empty, it had been that way for far to long for Mal's likening. It seemed to him the jobs were getting harder and harder to find. That why this job was almost perfect. While they had to set down on Megest for some repair that Kaylee had said if they didn't fix them right then they would be dead in space Mal had be approach by a young man who said some lady had pay him quit a lot of money to give a letter to him. At first Mal wasn't sure he should open it, it was a weird letter from a mystery person but finally curiosity got t he best of him and he opened it, it stated:

Dear, Captain Malcolm Reynolds

I found out from my people that if I wanted something done your crews the people who could do it. I have a job for you. I'm willing to pay up to five times your normal fee to get it done fast and quietly. This job is very important to me so it will have to be handle with great care. If you think that you and your crew are up to this please meet me and my associated in one weeks time

BS

P.S. Me any associated request to be with your crew every step of the way on this. Thank you.

Now when Mal said the job was almost perfect it was while the person was will to pay so much more then their normal fee was great, it would keep serenity flying for a good long time. But they wanted to stay aboard Serenity through out the job. It could be that they just wanted to make sure that the job was done right or it could be something else. In the end the money won out over anything else they just needed it too much. Plus Mal was sure he could protect his crew from the bad thing if need be. So here he was taken his crew into the unknown once again. As the ship set down with a gentle thump, Jayne and Zoë join him down in the cargo bay.

"Welcome to the lovely planet of Ray-10 were the weather is hot, with a bit of hot, and later it will be hot. Have a nice day." Wash's voice said over the intercom, Mall just shock his head and look out as the cargo bay boors lower. When it did Mal saw two people standing outside his ship. One was a girl of average height with blond and looked to be in good shape. Behind her stood a young man, he was taller then the girl but not that much taller and he had dark brown hair. Neither of the two looked to be over 21 but the both gave off a feeling of being much older then they appear to be.

"Captain Reynolds, I am glad you accepted my offer. I am Buffy Summer and this is my associated Xander." The blond girl said shacking hands with Mal.

"How old are you, girl." Mal said not being able to help himself he just didn't see how someone so young could afford him or would have any use for him if they could. Buffy smiled at him like she had heard that question many time before.

"Older then you could ever guest, Captain. And lod enough to come through." She said and held up a bag. " half now and half when you finish the job."

"That good enough for me." Jayne said but no one was pay him much heed.

"And what would be the job your paying so much money for us to complete?" Zoë asked coming up next to the captain and Mal introduces her.

"I'll get to that in a minute first some question." Buffy stated and Mal nodded his head showing he agreed to this. "Your ships a bit old are you sure she up to it?" The questionable look on the girls face showed that she didn't quit trust the ship.

"Serenity can take anything you throw at her." A voice from behind said and they all turn to see who it belong to. Kaylee stood there on the step looking down at everyone in the cargo bay.

"Kaylee aren't you suppose to be fixing something." Mal said, he didn't like Kaylee out in the open when they were meeting new people. It was too easy for one of them to pull out a gun and shot her before anyone knew what was happening, after all its happen before.

"Its okay cap' everything is shinny. Out ship is tip top." Kaylee said the last part for the two strangers standing there. Which made Buffy smile. The young girl had so much life to her it was hard not to smile when she was round. It remembered her of someone she knew.

"That good enough for me Captain. The job I have for you go in three stages and the first stage all you need to do is pick up a package." Buffy replied.

"And the other two steps." Mal asked.

"We'll talk about them when we get to them. Well Captain what do you say do we have a deal?" Buffy asked. Mal looked from the girl to the young man standing behind her. He had said nothing the whole time. Mal wonder about him, why he was there, actually Mal wonder about a lot of thing. The girl had said next to nothing about what the job really was but once again the money out weighed everything else.

"You got your self a crew Ms. Summer." Mal said with a big smile.

That all for now if you like it please review and more will be written.