A/N This starts near the beginning of Our Mrs. Reynolds and will cover the storyline briefly but I've got a few ideas for later chapters to branch it out and continue past that particular storyline. I'm keeping it mainly from Simon's point of view but later chapters may include other points of view as well. Anyway, please let me know what you like/dislike, etc. I haven't mapped everything out yet and would love suggestions and comments.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly.
"River...River! Sit still for a moment." Simon Tam tried to restrain his sister as she squirmed away from the needle. "I need to take some blood for a test and wiggling around will only draw this out."
"Music...music flowing through me. Listen Simon, music flowing all through us." River managed to successfully evade Simon and slipped her way out to the cargo bay floor, her bare feet making little noise. The ramp was down, inviting a warm summer evening in. In the distance, a large campfire was casting shadows across the landscape as nightfall gently descended on whatever backwater berg Serenity had managed to find itself on this time. Music gently trilled in the background as the townsfolk danced amidst torches planted in the ground. Somewhere out in the midst of all that, Captain Reynolds, Jayne, Wash, Zoe, Kaylee, and Book all enjoyed the town's hospitality after Mal, Jayne, and Zoe had rid them of a particularly relentless group of bandits. Kaylee had volunteered to stay inside with them and keep them company but Simon had insisted that she go enjoy herself. He and River were alone on the ship since Inara was off on another of her appointments.
"River, don't go too far into the bay." Simon called across to his sister. No matter how far they got out of Alliance territory, he still felt nervous that someone outside might see River, no matter how small the chance someone might actually recognize her from a warrant. He smiled as he watched as she began to dance to the music filtering into the bay. With her eyes closed, River leapt and twirled as her lithe body followed the motions of the music. She always loved to dance and even though he really should be drawing some of her blood right now, Simon couldn't bear to break up her own moment of peace. Her graceful movements brought back memories of his little sister before the Alliance got its ruthless hands on her. He thought back to her dance recitals when she was younger with a smile. She was easily the standout in her class and usually better than dancers with years more experience. Simon would never tell anyone but seeing River this serene also brought an overwhelming sense of peace to himself. This was his own private moment of tranquility that none could bring but his little sister's happiness.
As the song ended and River finished dancing, Simon brought his hands together and clapped. "Fantastic, mei-mei. That was incredible." Simon couldn't keep the pride out of his voice. If only things had been different she could have been anything with her gifts. Her logical and creative talents lent her the opportunity to do anything that made her happy and also to be successful at it. Few people in the 'verse could claim that.
River looked at him and cocked her head and explained, "Music flowing like a river through me. Have to go with the flow, stops for no person. Have to ride to avoid being swept away." With that finished she gave him a smile, one of the first normal smiles he'd seen from her since before she'd left for the academy. Her words still confused him a bit but they were less disjointed then some of what she had spoken before. Perhaps he could use her dancing as a form of therapy. It seemed to calm her and make her almost the way she had been.
All thought of this vanished as a shadow seemed to fall across River's face and she sunk to the metal floor. Simon was at her side in an instant.
"River, what's wrong? River, are you ok?" Simon asked growing more frantic. "Mei-mei, please speak to me."
River began trembling and looked at her brother. "Not right...witch has come. She'll make poison apples and lay her own deadly trail of bread crumbs." She glanced out towards the campfire. It was a ways off but it looked like Mal had been dragged to his feet by a young woman and was dancing with her.
A little uneasy with the sudden transformation back, Simon brought his sister close and embraced her until her quivering ceased and she nestled snugly into his arms. He should have known this bit of normalcy couldn't have lasted. His own moments of serenity were few and far between but hers were much more rare. Given a choice, he'd rather be constantly stressed and allow River her moments of tranquility. With a sigh, he untangled himself from River and got to his feet before helping her off the cold floor. How she never managed to catch a chill was beyond him.
"C'mon River, I still need that blood. We have to make you better and I need to run more tests before I can do that." Simon explained. "After that, we can make some dinner and get ready for bed."
"Doctor, not cook." River mumbled.
Simon couldn't help but grin. "You're such a brat, you know that?"
"Names no hurt. Food still smells bad." River stuck her tongue out at him.
"For that comment and the tongue, I'm not sure if I'll have any sweets left to give you after your blood is drawn." Simon said with a straight face.
"No!" River cried out. "Food not so bad. Doesn't smell completely like crotch."
"River!" he exclaimed. River held his gaze with a pleading look. "Well, after a compliment like that, I'm sure I can find some candy left." Simon said with a wry smile as he took River's hand and guided her back to the infirmary.
True to his word, Simon did discover some hard candy left in his medicine bag and gave a piece to River as a treat for being cooperative. Ascending the stairs together, they made their way to the dining room where they discovered Shepherd Book reading in the corner.
"Good evening Shepherd. I didn't expect you back so soon." Simon said.
"Good evening, you two." Book said with a smile on his face. "I thought it best to come back. Mal and Jayne seemed determined to drink the village dry and Wash, Zoe, and Kaylee were entertaining the locals with stories and I thought of you two stuck here. I managed to bring some food back from the celebration for both of you. Some fish, beans, and even some fruits and vegetables. The townsfolk were very generous."
"Thank you Shepherd, that's very kind." Simon said as his eyes lit up taking it all in. "River was not looking forward to another night of my cooking. I must say, I wasn't looking forward to another night of my cooking either." Simon loaded two plates with fish, fruits, and vegetables deciding to pass on the beans as they'd had their fair share of them lately. Anything that could be stored for a long time was standard fare on a ship and Simon longed for something non-standard. He brought their plates to the table, taking a seat near Book with River next to him.
"You're quite welcome. No reason the two of you should miss out on a rare, fresh meal. In fact, Miss River, I also managed to sneak away with a small piece of chocolate as well." Book held it out to her.
River looked at the small, dark piece of chocolate with something akin to wonder. "Ancient Aztecs of Earth-That-Was discovered cacao beans. They also performed human sacrifices."
"Uh, thank you very much, Shepherd. She does appreciate it." Simon managed to get out. River took the chocolate in her hand and broke it in half.
"Anti-oxidants. Heart healthy." River said seriously while gesturing with one half towards Simon.
Smiling while rolling his eyes, Simon joked, "Here I thought I was the doctor." Taking the piece from River, Simon popped it into his mouth. "It doesn't seem like it's been long since I've had chocolate, but a lot has happened." He looked over at River who seemed to be enjoying her chocolate immensely. "I'm not sure when the last time River had any. It's probably been since before..." Simon trailed off and noticed his sister's eyes going wide. "She went away." He finished lamely.
Book smiled warmly. "I've yet to meet a girl who doesn't enjoy chocolate. I was lucky to get that piece away before Kaylee spotted the rest on the table."
"Again, Shepherd, thank you for your kindness. Most of the time I feel we're ok if we stay out of everyone's way but I'd like to be more helpful than that. Taking care of River right now is a full time job in itself..." Hearing that remark, River gave him a kick under the table. "OWW! Although, she does have her moments." he finished. With that River gave her brother a sweet smile followed by one of her best glares.
"Quite all right son, I'm a Shepherd. I tend to my flock." He smiled as he pretended not to notice the sibling behavior going on. "But even shepherds need rest so I'm off to bed. Good night Simon. Good night River."
"The human body requires approximately 7 hours of sleep to function at optimum levels." River looked towards Book.
"I'll keep that in mind, dear." With that Book left for his room.
Simon looked over at River's place. For once, River had ate everything he had put on the plate for her. Perhaps because she was hungry. Probably more so because it wasn't protein mush again. Or his cooking. Given another evaluation, it probably had some combination of the three of those.
"Well, mei-mei, if you're done, let's get these dishes put away and get ready for bed ourselves." Simon took his and River's plate over towards the sink. River followed him with their mugs. After washing them and putting them away, River looked towards Simon with a hopeful expression on her face.
"Story time?" She asked, making her brown eyes go as wide as possible.
Simon couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, any requests?" Mentally, he congratulated himself on having the foresight to bring along some of her books when he visited their parents' house for the last time before breaking her out of the academy. She still loved fairytales before bed and in a way, Simon hoped that part of her would never change. It was their special moment to share before the day ended.
"Snow White." She said with a smile.
Simon frowned briefly, remembering River's reference of witches and poison apples before in the cargo bay. Surely just a coincidence? It was hard to tell, with her shifting moods. Regardless, if anything would give his little sister some peace, he'd do it. "Sure. Why don't you go get changed and I'll meet you in your room." With a serene look, she hurried off towards her room by the infirmary. Simon had finally gotten around to making up another room for himself after River had begun sleeping through most of the night. He had chosen the room directly across from hers so all she would have to do was slide the door open to see him. Most nights he would inevitably find her huddled up next to him at some point, scared awake by nightmares. Depending on the night, he would usually let her stay where she was or he'd move to the floor to give her more room. She seemed to sleep more peacefully if he was around. Having her near brought him a degree of comfort as well but he just wished that she didn't have these episodes. For probably the hundredth time since he'd rescued River, he thought darkly that those responsible were lucky they evaded any retribution at his hands.
After putting on his own pajama pants, Simon padded across the hall to River's room. She was already under her blanket, eagerly awaiting their nightly ritual. Her book of fairytales lay next to her, with the page already open to the appropriate story.
"You know genius..." Simon began teasingly as he picked up the book. "Since you're so smart, perhaps one night you should read to me."
"You do the voices better." River explained patiently. "Voices in my head are even quiet when you read."
Simon looked startled at this and quickly cast about for a way to change the subject. "You know, this book is starting to fall apart a bit. Next time we land on a decent planet, how about I see if Shepherd Book or Kaylee can find something similar in the market?"
"No." River replied. "Like this one. Good memories." She looked at him with her big brown eyes and softly said, "Very few good memories overall. Want to keep the ones I have."
Simon swallowed a lump in his throat and pretended to rub his nose, hoping to hide the movement of his hand wiping a tear that was threatening to fall from his eye. "So, all comfy?" he asked with a false cheeriness in his voice.
"Not uncomfortable. Ready to listen now."
Simon began reading, spinning the tale of a beautiful woman, poison apples, enchanted mirrors, and an evil queen. Throughout the story River watched him with wide eyes, hands tightening on her blanket whenever the queen was mentioned. When Simon arrived at the part where Snow White fell into an enchanted sleep, he glanced down and saw River had drifted off into what looked like a peaceful sleep. Her breathing, sometimes so ragged and heavy when she suffered nightmares was regular and slow. She looked so peaceful. Why can't it always be like this? Simon wondered. Who could do such things to a sweet, young girl? He smiled sadly at her and gently brushed a lock of her hair off her face. River smiled gently in sleep and shifted a little into a more comfortable position. Simon looked at her wistfully, before carefully getting off the bed and tucking the covers in more, wanting to make sure she stayed warm. Serenity could be a drafty place, especially down so close to the cargo bay. With a kiss to her forehead, Simon quietly slipped out, turning the light out on his way. Making his way back to his own room, he made notes on River's behavior noting that she had a pretty good day with no major episodes. He recalled his earlier observation of her dancing and made sure to put that in, hoping to find more activities that kept her happy and calm. With a small hope that things might be looking a little brighter, he shut off his own light and fell asleep.
Sobbing noises woke him some time later. Simon quickly threw back his blanket and slid his door open and made his way to River's room. She sat, rocking back and forth on one end of her bed, knees drawn up to her chest with her eyes frantically darting every which way. Simon rushed to her side and gathered her in his arms. "Mei-mei, it's ok, it's ok now. You're safe." River didn't acknowledge him right away but continued her whimpering which caused a worried frown to crease Simon's face. "River..."
"More to be seen than what is still covered, draped in shadow, the witch comes for us all. Heart of lies, spinning, burning." River trembled momentarily, her body racked with shivers. Simon touched her skin. Even with her shivering it felt like it was on fire.
"River, shush, shush. I'm here now. Simon, your brother." Simon knew that today had to have been too good to last. His heart ached for his little sister. No one should have to keep reliving their nightmares the way she did. Reaching to River's beside table, he gathered a soft cloth and the bowl of water he normally kept there for her night terrors. Gently, he rinsed her sweat soaked brow and moved to her cheeks and neck.
"Simon, don't leave me. They come when I'm alone." River looked pleadingly at her brother.
"Mei- mei, I'll never leave you. Tell you what though, why don't you come to my room and sleep there tonight. A change of location might help you sleep better and I'll be there."
"The halls of slumber echo endlessly, no peace to be had." River mumbled as Simon helped her up and to his room.
Simon paused and then with an almost inaudible sigh, he looked back into her room and shut off the light. He wished there was something he could do to help rid her of these inner demons. After settling River in his bed, he found the most comfortable piece of floor he could and curled up near the headboard. River's tiny hand snaked it way down the side of the bed and found his fingers before grasping them tightly.
Waking several hours later, Simon felt the rumbling of the ship's engine. Sometime when they had been asleep, they had taken off. Simon managed to gently slide his hand out of River's grasp and quickly changed into fresh clothes or whatever passed for fresh clothes on a ship such as this where laundry was not high on the to-do list. Sneaking a peek over at River, he saw she was still asleep. Sliding the door open as quietly as he could, Simon made his way towards the infirmary, thinking of making some more notes before the day really began. Based on what Book had told him the night before, he had a feeling he'd be prescribing hangover remedies to Mal and Jayne. Right when he was about to enter the infirmary, he heard the intercom click on and Zoe's voice came over the speaker.
"All crew to the cargo bay, all crew to the cargo bay."
Simon thought to himself, "Now what can this all be about?"