Disclaimer: I don't own it. Everything you recognise belongs to Joss. No infringement
is intended and I'm certainly not making any money from this story.
Summary: Inara is leaving, again.
Author's note: Feedback is, as always, greatly appreciated.


Stars Falling Down
by Hereswith

She would have realised what had happened, even if she hadn't been a reader. The signs are
there in plain view, two and two can easily be put together and the sums made to match up.
She's not the only one who's felt it in the air, like the trembling of ozone before the rain, when
the heavens are streaked blue-black above.

"Ain't right," Kaylee had muttered, stretched out on the sofa in the galley, her feet in Simon's
lap. "Too gorram stubborn, the both of them."

When she catches sight of the captain standing on the slope near the ship, River remembers those
words. The others are inside and she should be as well, but, like him, she's been straying. He's
staring up into the dark spaces, the vast and the deep of night, his arms crossed over his chest,
and his weariness tugs at her, but it isn't hers, not the cause of it, nor the easing.

"Conjure I don't need to tell you what course we'll be setting," he remarks, as she slides up next
to him. "Or the rest of the crew?"

"No," she replies. "You don't."

His laugh is short, falls to ground like a stone, but he doesn't ask her to leave, so she lingers,
craning her neck to gaze at the sky. She spots the large shooting star before he does, her intake
of breath drawing his attention, and she tries to point it out to him, quickly but in vain, it's already
faded.

"Don't matter none," he says. "But you've a wish to make."

She huffs. "Piece of debris that burns up in atmo. It's very pretty, but it can't grant my wishes."

"Ain't all math and science, little albatross," he chides, like he often has before, though the
teasing in his tone is subdued. "There's things in the 'verse oughtn't be closely explained. Takes
the magic clear out of them." At her frown, he adds, "What's the harm in it?"

She hesitates, momentarily, then closes her eyes, wrapping her mind around a single thought,
holding on to it. When she looks up, he's regarding her with a hint of curiosity. "Not saying
it out loud," she states. "It would be cheating."

"That it would." He shrugs, slightly, and a muscle clenches in his jaw. "It's late. We should be
getting back in."

His steps are not quite reluctant, but slower than hers, as they head into the gaping mouth of
the ship. He stops to talk with Zoe, in the cargo bay, and River continues on her own towards
the upper levels. She doesn't honestly believe, but halfway up the stairs she darts a glance at him
over her shoulder, and she hopes that she's wrong. Because she wished him peace.

xx

The day before they arrive at Sihnon, River steals off to Inara's shuttle, and she hovers uncertainly
at the edges of it until the Companion smiles and says, "Come. Sit with me."

Inara takes a seat amidst the red and the gold, and River follows her example, sinking down
and leaning back, the scents she always associates with this place, and this woman, heavy
around her. "Must you go?"

Inara is quiet, then, and still. Her face and her posture reveal nothing, but that isn't the whole
of the truth. She's trained to smooth out the wrinkles, to fold neatly away and be calm, when
the winds blow the strongest.

"Yes. For now, at least," she finally answers, and her gaze is distant. "It wasn't a decision lightly
taken, River, but it's one we both took, this time."

River pulls her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. "Too many gone," she says, voice low.
"Serenity will miss you. I will, too."

Inara's expression gentles, suddenly, and she shifts, touching a hand to River's arm, a slender
hand, but there's strength in it. "And I you. It will be well, bao bei. All will be well. You'll see."

They do not speak of departure, or of the captain, again, after that, though River remains in
the shuttle for a long while, and the conversation rarely falters. But later, when River's about
to return to her own room, carrying gifts of silk and vibrant colour, Inara presses a kiss to
River's forehead, and she whispers, "Keep them safe."

And River knows that she means each and every one of them, that she means Mal, and she nods,
hair swinging, rustling. She can, and she will.

She will.