Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly or Serenity.
Notes: This was my first attempt at writing anything Firefly related, and, though it's not much (short and simple), I'm reasonably proud of it, considering. I actually started writing it in February, but forgot about it until today. I think I'll go read some Firefly fanfiction and re-watch the show before writing anything in this fandom, again…maybe that way it'll be better…
Centred on River – spoilers for Serenity, I guess.
Voices
Voices, voices, voices.
It's so hard not to hear them, so hard not to hate them.
Just the desire for it to stop.
Nothing else matters at times like this. Only this desire, the importance of the voices stopping their screaming, stopping their shouting and agony. Stopping their horrible silence.
The nothingness of those screaming voices, the agonizing pain she feels with them, for them. How could one not hate their silence?
Make it stop. Want it to stop. Need it to stop.
Nothing else matters. Just let it run its course. Let victims of the pain lead the victim of the screaming.
There's nothing else for her to do – there's no way she can make them stop, on her own, when she doesn't know where to go, where to start – only Miranda can help her.
She wants to tell him…tell him so badly…but she doesn't. She won't. She can't. He already worried too much, already fussed, and she loved the comfort but she didn't want to scare him away.
But he found out, anyway.
They all did.
They came after her and forced her to react, even if she didn't want to – forced her to do things she didn't want to do, and then he came for her and he spoke to her, and she fell asleep.
And it was sort of frightening…
But they helped. They got Miranda and they all helped, and then…
…and then there was silence.
Comfortable, sweet silence.
And she could smile, laugh and play without worry, and the smiling was always there, and everything was good and they – she – was like an albatross, a bird, free in the sky, and she loved it.
And she had him with her still, and she saw him start his own life properly, and…
…and she couldn't have asked for more.