Author's Note: Ficlet for the LJ ff_friday challenge. May 15's subject: something lost. Length: 992 words, what do you know. I'm too lazy to edit it down any more.

Security Blanket

By Trisana McGraw

Even without the intercom, half the ship could hear the vicious string of Chinese coming from the cockpit. Upon venturing inside, Zoë and Mal encountered Wash's bottom sticking out of a console as he continued to swear in both English and Mandarin.

"What's up?" Mal, hands in his pockets, inquired, tilting his head to the side.

Startled by the captain's voice, Wash quickly lifted his head, but he only succeeded in bumping it against the top of the console and worsening his mood. Groaning and rubbing the spot where he was sure to get a bruise, he scurried backward on his knees and slowly got to his feet, where he was met by two pairs of inquiring eyes.

This time it was Zoë who chanced a question. "Something wrong, honey?"

Wash ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Sorta." He shrugged toward the console he had just been rummaging in.

Mal's eyebrows shot up, and he rushed over to the controls, which were blinking calmly. "What is it? Is something wrong with my ship? `Cause I don't care if you're married to my first mate, Wash; you mess up my girl – I mean Serenity – and I'll space you. `Course, if you hurt Zoë, too, I'd try to kill you, but I think she could take care of herself --"

"No, Mal, there's nothing wrong with your precious ship," Wash shot back, his hand dropping to his side. "I – I can't find my dinos."

Mal's sigh of relief became a laugh. "I'm sorry, your what?"

Not finding the same humor Mal did, Wash glowered. "My dinosaurs; you know the plastic dinos I keep in here. I thought maybe they'd fallen behind the console, but they're nowhere to be seen."

Zoë placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but she was biting her lip to keep from laughing. "Honey, can't you buy some more on the next planet we land on?"

He gripped her hand and sighed again. "I guess, but these have a special significance. You know, like Jayne and his weapons."

"What about me and my weapons?" Jayne asked, stepping into the helm.

"Wash has lost some of his dinosaurs," Mal explained.

Jayne just stood there with a look of confusion on his face, and Wash growled, "Wuh de ma, Jayne, don't waste your precious little brain cells trying to understand. But if you could look for `em, I'd appreciate it."

"Yeah, right," the mercenary scoffed, leaving the helm.

"Come on," Zoë said, tugging a reluctant Wash along by the arm, "I'll get you something to drink, and you can get this off your mind. Sir, do you mind taking the helm for a few minutes?"

Mal sent her a baffled look, but she added, "Please?" With a sigh, Mal waved them off.

Simon, looking harried, intercepted the couple on their way to the galley. "By any chance, have either of you seen River? She got up early, and I haven't been able to find her yet."

"You lost your sister?" Wash chuckled. "Don't worry, doctor; it's a small ship, and she's not as tiny as, say, a plastic toy." When Simon looked confused, Wash added, "Some of my dinosaurs are missing, so I guess we have the same problem."

Unable to find an adequate comparison between his precious, troubled sister and a piece of colored plastic, Simon nonetheless fell into step beside them.

Inside the galley, River sat peacefully at the large table, holding a plastic dinosaur in each hand. As they entered, she murmured, "Matter is neither created nor destroyed. It simply passes from hand to hand."

"God, there they are!" Wash cried, leaping toward her. Startled, River shrank back, clutching the toys to her chest.

Feeling Zoë's warning hand on his back, Wash straightened up as Simon came around behind River. "River, honey, did you take those from the cockpit?" he asked cautiously, his eyes on the dinosaurs.

Her eyes darkened, and her lower lip jutted out. Wash sighed, remembering that while she looked very endearing, she still held his toys captive. "I needed them," she finally answered. "They fill in the places the other men took away, the bits of me when I was little." She looked up at Simon. "Remember when we used to play war? The Independents used dinosaurs, just like now." Simon nodded, a wry smile curling the corners of his mouth.

"Well, I didn't fight for a side in the war," Wash interjected; "didn't fight much at all, actually. But I gotta agree that the `verse wouldn't be where it was without the dinosaurs."

Zoë rolled her eyes, smiling at the adorable sight of River. "Wash, you'd hate to make her unhappy, wouldn't you?" She was surprised at her own tenderness toward the child, but then her practical side remembered the things an upset River had done in the past.

Wash knelt so that he and River were at equal eye level. "Hey, River, how's about I let you borrow the dinos, as long as you return them? I understand what it's like to have a security blanket."

"They're like that for you, too," she said, and Wash pulled back, surprised. "I don't know if anyone's told you," he said, "but it's really creepy when you do that."

Standing up again, he took Zoë's hand and said, "I should be getting back to my job." Casting a glance back at River, they left.

Simon watched as River giggled and made the stegosaurus repeatedly jab the more powerful T-rex into submission. "You know," he said after a moment, "I don't know much about them, but I think the T-rex would eventually overpower the stegosaurus."

River smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes like before. "You'd think the T-rex is more powerful, but it took the stegosaurus away from its home and hurt it for no good reason. It's time for the peaceful creature to strike back and kill its aggressor. It's only right."