End Game by Proxii Bleu
(Note: Sorry this took so long! Real life has been busy, and I finally just got some time to work on my fics! Thank you for all of your patience, and please enjoy the story!)
VI
"So what do you think of Carousel?" Simon looked up from the book he was reading, and over at Kaylee who was winding yarn around a spool. Since yesterday the pig had been hauled back to it's original farm by Paul who apologized for Jennie, and promised Marylin that she could have some of the pork. The matter of the molding however had yet to be settled, but until an arrangement could be made the rest of Kaylee's brothers were currently patching it up before any mites got inside, and started eating the untreated wood.
"I think its...interesting." Simon was still bruised from his chase with the boar. The tale of his unfortunate run-in with the animal had been the cause of most of the laughter at the dinner table last night. Personally, having nearly been killed by the pig in question he hadn't thought the matter all that funny, but had smiled politely anyway.
"You don't like it do you?" This time it was Kaylee's mother Hannah who spoke. Like her daughter she had a healthy frame, flame red hair, and the unique ability to read between the lines of even the most neutral of conversations. Simon hastily shook his head.
"What? No, I like it just fine. It's just that-"
"It's a territory world?" Both mother and daugher were staring at the doctor expecantly as they waited for an answer. On the one hand if he said that he did hate it, Simon was probably going to end up walking back to Serenity rather than sleep in the barn once they turned him out, on the other he could try the other half of the truth.
"It's not an environment that I'm used to. Things are different out here." Hannah smiled, and picked up another spool, her nimble fingers easily wrapping a length of yarn around the narrow wand.
"Well Simon if you're going to live out here among us Independents, you're going to have to get used to us. A man can't live between the past and future forever."
"I'm not trying to do that, I'm just-"
"Trying to keep hold of yourself? You don't have to change everything you are just to fit in Simon," said Hannah quetly. "All you have to do is simply adapt."
"Yeah," said Kaylee as she tossed another finished spool into her mother's bag of sewing supplies. "When you first came aboard Serenity remember how you were afraid to eat with your hands?"
"I wasn't afraid," said Simon thinking about the incident in question."I was just taught that a gentleman doesn't eat with his fingers."
"But you learned how now didn't you?"
"I don't see the point."
"The point Kaylee is trying to make dear is that you're still Simon, but you've learned to take on some of the customs out here to better adjust. That sound right to you Kaylee?" Kaylee nodded, and started another spool.
"Yeah, like when a tadpole becomes a frog." said Kaylee. "See when you first came out here you were a tadpole, and now you're growing into a frog." Simon smiled thinly, and set down his book. Standing up he stiffly walked down the stairs, with his back straight.
"Oo, I think he's mad. Simon are you mad?"
"Ribbit." Hannah just groaned as Kaylee dissolved into a mess of giggles, a wry grin on Simon's face as he headed off to see if there was something else to do around the farm to keep his attention. River was perfectly content learning about being a Healer from Marylin who was willing to let the girl pour over her books, plants, and currently watch as the older woman cooked something in a large cauldron over an open fire. He didn't know what it was, but the liquid was giving off a faint sweet odor that was reminiscient of ginger.
"Hello Simon." Simon waved at his sister who was languidly stretched out on the table amongst Marylin's ingredients watching her cook the mystery liquid, her eyes rapt as she watched the woman measure out the ground herbs into the pot. Walking over, he peered at one of her books that was lying open on the table.
Inside were carefully written notes, but what caught his eye was a series of dots carefully arranged into a neat hexagonal design - the diagram for the molecular structure of a drug. Frowning, he examined it's components. It was heprol, a substance that was usually administered to young children as a treatment for Settler's Lung - a disease that caused the sufferer to expereince severe couging fits that if left untreated caused permanent damage to the lining of the lungs.
Marylin noticed Simon examining the book, and casually walked over to where he stood. The younger man was now peering at her through narrowed eyes, his mind turning over possibilites as he once more tried to place that feeling he had whenever he looked at the older woman. It wasn't a negative vibe he got from her, or a sinister one, but a sense of familiarity whenever he looked at her. It was as if he had known her before, but it wasn't likely since Kaylee said her aunt hadn't been off-world since before the start of the first conflicts between Independents and Alliance.
That had been over twenty years ago.
Simon just smiled as Marylin casually closed the book, the volume sliding away from the boy as she tried to keep him from seeing what she had written. She knew that there was no harm in River looking at her material, but Simon was another matter.
He might recognize her.
"See something you like?" she asked lightly. Simon shook his head, his eyes wandering from the pot, to Marylin, River, and back again.
"Not really, I just wanted to see what you were doing."
"Ah." Marylin shuddered inwardly. There was a change in Simon now, his emotions were hard to track, and if she didn't know any better he was supressing them. Smiling, she fought as River began prodding at her defenses. Between the two of them, the woman was almost a nervous wreck. "Well as you can see, I'm merely making a tonic for when we have spring cough."
"You mean Settler's Lung?" Marylin's eyes flickered up to Simon who was still smiling neutrally.
"I'm not sure what it would be called in the Alliance," Marylin passed the book over to River. "Out here we call it spring cough."
"I see, well I suppose then that your tonic would make a difference. Tell me, who originally made it? I'm always curious about the origin of territory medicines, especially given the lack of information available on medicinal botany." Marylin's blue eyes narrowed as she stared at Simon. With a little more insight, he might place her. She had to curb that train of thought, and quickly.
"Trial and error is how many of us Healers find the right herb combinations. Believe me Simon, out here we have to use our wits. Not everyone is blessed with the gift of precious Alliance education." Simon immediately regretted saying anything. The last thing he wanted to do was offend the older woman, and if she was insensed against him it would be almost impossible to find out more.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend. Sometimes, my curiousity can make me seem a bit rude."
"Or ungainly like an elephant dancing." said River softly as she flipped through the book. Unlike her brother, she had learned everything there was to know about Marylin within seconds of meeting her. The only problem was that knowledge was locked into her mind, not because of her condition, but by choice. Marylin was not a dangerous person, and as far as River was concerned she was in more need of healing than most of her patients. Simon looked about for an exit, and spied the barn where Mal and the rest of the crew were laying shingles.
What Kaylee and her mother had said was still fresh in his mind. It was obvious that he and River would probably be living out in the territories for quite some time, barring a miracle pardon from the Alliance, as a result she was right when she said that he should try to get a better understanding of Independent ways.
"I think I'll see if Mal needs me."
"Do that." Walking over to one of the ladders, Simon peered up for a few minutes before ascending. He wasn't very fond of heights after an accident when he was eight, and had climbed a tree in a nearby park. However, he was almost always in space aboard Serenity, and if he fell there he would literally fall forever.
Once again, logic did away with any reservations or fears that had been lurking in the corners of his mind.
Mal, Jayne, Marcus, and Denny were all on the roof. Wash had opted out wanting to spend some time on a nearby lake with Zoe, but what surprised him was the fact that Inara was sitting on the peak of the roof. Her pale skin perfectly shaded under a white parasol, while she watched the men work. Her sharp eyes immediately spotting the doctor as he stood watching from his spot on the ladder.
"Simon, how pleasant. Would you like to come sit next to me?" Simon looked up at the mess of naked wood, boards, shingles, and bags of nails. It looked like a minefield, with hammers and various tools scattered about. Mal, Jayne, and Denny stopped working. Thier eyes glued on the doctor as he carefully chose his next words.
"Um, actually I was thinking about lending a hand." Mal and Jayne burst out laughing, while Marcus and Denny tried their best to keep a straight face.
"Ah no offense there Simon, but you're a doctor." Simon shrugged, and crawled up onto the roof. Having never done so before he ended up doing it the hard way, by snaking across it on his hands and knees rather than risking standing up.
"True, but as I see it if River can learn to be a healer, then in theory I should be able to learn how to fix a hole in a barn roof." Mal looked over at Simon who was waiting patiently for an answer. He could tell that there was something behind the doctor's sudden interest in mingling with the men on the roof, but he really didn't have the mind for figuring it out at the moment.
"Show me you can stand up, and we'll go from there." Simon's face turned white as a sheet as he looked behind him down at the ground. It was about a ten-foot drop off of the roof, and it would be even more painful if he were to fall from his position intstead of the very edge. On the other hand, he supposed that by standing up it would show that he was serious about trying his hand at roofing. Carefully he shifted himself around into a position where he could get his legs under him, and moving slowly managed to get into a half-stooping half-upright position. Seeing the look of sheer terror on the boy's face, Mal decided that was good enough.
"Go and grab that red hammer over there, and that piece of quarter planking." Simon got the hammer, but looked around at the array of boards. Inara cleared her throat, and pointed to a thin piece to his left.
"I believe that's it." Jayne, Mal, and Marcus looked up at the Companion who merely smiled as she twirled her parasol.
"One of my clients is an architect." she explained. "He built the desk in my bedroom as a present for my birthday."
"I thought he built your bed?" asked Mal as he took the wood from Simon. Inara smiled, and twirled her parasol.
"Actually, made the desk as an apology for breaking my bed." Jayne arched an eyebrow, while Mal looked over at Marcus who was grinning wildy.
"Quit that grinnin' before I tell your momma." Marcus adopted a sour expression that was a mirror image of his cousin Kaylee's.
"Grump."
***
"Isn't this beautiful?" Zoe opened her eyes and looked at Wash who was lazily rowing them through Willow Lake, the deep body of water earning it's name not from the multitude of wiry trees that banked it's shore, but because about fifty years ago Willow Lee Frye the youngest of Kaylee's Great Aunt Mabel's children drowned in it while skating in the winter.
A small rose bush growing on a tiny lump of earth jutting up out of the water had supposedly been planted there in memory of the little girl. Zoe looked at the delicate orange blooms as they floated past it. Butterflies dancing about the bush as they harvested it's sweet crop of pollen. Their wings shining brilliantly in the sun.
"It's lovely honey." she said as he pointed them towards a small island on the south side of the lake. "Where are we going now."
"Well I was thinking that we would dock over there, and have lunch."
"Mmk." Zoe relaxed in the boat, her mind wandering as she thought of everything from Mal, to River, and finally the ever-present matter of coming up with a name for her unborn child. Earlier in the day Simon had been kind enough to suggest a few, but 'Vincent' for a boy and 'Winifred' for a girl were not exactly high on her list. It had to be something unique, yet not silly in that it caused more problems than it was worth. Her parents had kept it simple - Zoe, although with Wash with the name his parent's had given him it was easy to see why he kept with his nickname instead.
"So whatcha thinking about?"
"Names."
"Oo, any good ones."
"Not yet."
"Hear any from Kaylee's family? With that many kids they should have some good ones."
"I know 'Jennie' isn't on my list." Wash shuddered at the memories of the events from yesterday. He could still feel the talons of the chicken digging into the skin of his back. It was bad enough Jayne had gotten wind of his misfortunes. Everytime he saw the mercenray it seemed like he had a new chicken joke. Shaking his head, he returned to the matter at hand.
"How about River?" Zoe's mouth turned down at the corners.
"Unh-uh, that poor kid has enough on her mind. A child running about the ship with her name might cause problems."
"I know what you mean, at least she hasn't rubbed soup in her hair lately." Zoe smiled slightly at the thought. When River had her bad days as a result of the memories she suffered under from her ordeal at the Academy, she was prone to doing strange things such as pouring food on herself, going semi-catatonic, or flying into fits that ranged from anger to screaming in a corner whenever someone approached her. Fortunately she hadn't done any of the above lately.
"Well at any rate I'm just glad that she seems to be doing better." The shore of the lake dwindled away to a thin green bar, the dock they had lunched from invisible to them as Wash bought the small boat around into the shallows of the lake. Climbing out he floundered about in the water as he dragged the boat up a ways next to a pillar, and roped it tight. Zoe climbed out, the basket Wash had bought along in hand as her husband looked for a good spot to set up.
"How about over there?" she asked pointing to a shaded spot under a tree.
"Okay." Wash laid down a blanket, and sat down on it. His hand petting the ground as he waited for Zoe to join him. Smiling she eased herself down next to her husband who was looking rather energetic for some reason.
"You remember the first time we went out on Silver?"
"Mm-hmm." Zoe was peering in the basket at the food. There were sandwiches, small cakes, salads, meats- Wash's head was blocking her view.
"Honey? Are you in there?"
"Yes."
"So, do you remember what we did that afternoon?" Wash waggled hs eyebrows at her. Zoe recalled in full detail what they had done that afternoon in the field on Silver, three times if her memory served correct. Wash's grin grew as Zoe chuckled at the thought.
"Ah yes, and it's not going to happen dear."
"What! Zoe come on Simon said it was okay."
"I know what Simon said, but I just don't feel comfortable doing that with the baby in there."
"I'm comfortable with it." Zoe just stared at him.
"No."
"Great, so I rowed out here for nothing." Wash immediately regretted the words ever coming out of his mouth. Zoe' smile faded, and was replaced with 'the look'. Wash did not like 'the look', when Zoe gave him 'the look' it meant that any hopes of fun in the future had gone right out the window, probably with him behind it.
"You mean to tell me that all of this wasn't just to spend a nice day on shore leave? That all you bought me out here for was-"
"Well I bought food too! You know, for after." Wash cringed, yep 'the look' had changed into 'the glare'. He was humped, there was no way around it.
"Food and that, is all you can think about? I walk around everyday with fifteen pounds hanging off my gut, my ankles are the size of cucumbers, my back feels like it's being pulled in half, and you know what I'm thinking about?"
"Aspirin?"
"You! I think about you, and ways to spend time with you, but apparently the only thing you think about is eating, and THAT!"
"I don't just think about those things, I think about other things such as piloting, and how much I love you and the baby, and then I think about food and that." Zoe paused. For a second Wash thought he had a reprieve, but it was just the calm before the storm.
"So piloting is first on your list of priorities?"
"Well when I'm thinking about other things Zoe, I'm usually piloting at the same time."
"Why not think about other things when you're not piloting."
"Because then I'm usually eating or doing that." Wash snickered until he was cut off by a hunk of bread flaying at his head. Grumbling Zoe got up from her seat, and marched back down to the boat. Stunned, Wash lay there for a few seconds before the sound of oars cutting water bought him to his senses. Flying off the banket he dashed for the water only to see that Zoe was well out into the lake.
"ZOE! WAAAIIIITTTT! YOU LEFT ME BEHIND!"
"Oh really? I forgot, I was thinking about other things!" Splashing about in the shallows Wash watched her row away. Pulling off his shoes, he dove into the water and started swimming after her.
"ZOE! ZOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEE!"
***
From the trees the binoculars watched as the couple shouted at each other from their positions in the lake. The blue hands adjusting the focus as they watched the couple slowly make their way back to shore. It was still going to be another twelve to twenty-four hours before they began Phase Two, but timing was of the essence. They couldn't afford any mistakes, there was too much to lose if they failed in their mission.
***
While Wash and Zoe were busy having their differences out on the lake, Simon was helping Mal lay down the last shingles on the roof. It had taken them the better part of the day to cover the hole, but now that they were almost done one could hardly tell that a cow had crashed through it. Jayne had left sometime earlier to go with Marcus to start gathering up the various members of the Frye family, while Kaylee and the rest of her kin were gathering up food in order to start cooking for the big dinner tomorrow night.
Inara was still on the roof, her eyes following the movements of the men, and occassionally looking down at the ground where River was still lying on the table. The only change in her position was that she was now curled up on her side asleep. Simon fished a pair of nails out of his back pocket, and handed them to Mal.
After hammering one too many nails into the wood on a bad angle, accidentally hitting Mal's hand with the hammer, and finally his own the captain had decided to put the doctor on nail duty before he hurt himself or clipped Jayne which would have resulted in the younger man being tossed off the roof.
Nobody, including the doctor wanted that.
"Well I think that after we get this shingle on here, this roof will officially be finished."
"Congratulations." said Inara. "On a job well done."
"Why thank you Ambassador," said Mal as he hammered the last nails in place. "I didn't think you noticed."
"I notice everything Mal." replied Inara softly. Mal's eyes wandered up to the Companion, his mind immediately wandering to the picture he had picked up off of the floor of her shuttle. He had yet to look at it, but he couldn't help but to wonder if Inara had seen him take it.
"Well that's nice." Inara smiled, and stood up from her seat. Walking carefully, she made her way down to the ladder, and gracefully exited the roof. Mal was a very paranoid man, there was something about Inara that was unsettling him as of late, mainly the fact that since she had come running back to Serenity with the hell scared out of her she had been sticking close to Reynolds. To make matters even more bizzare, she had even been keeping the insults to a minimum with a surplus of comments coming his way rather than the former.
"Hey Simon, you and Inara are friends right?"
"Yes, she allows me to practice my cultural skills."
"That's good, but what I'm wondering is if you've noticed any change in her lately?" Simon thought for a minute as he watched the Companion walk towards the fields. Her parasol twirling as she stepped through the gate, and went to find Jayne who was waiting on the neighbor with the haycart to take him and Kaylee around to her relatives.
"Well she's being nicer to you, that's a change."
"I know, you don't think she...nah."
"Has feelings for you?" Mal dropped a hammer, and watched it slide down off the roof, and onto the ground.
"Does she Doc?" Simon shook his head emphatically.
"As far as I know her private opinion of you is that you're a good man...with the culture and grace of a barbarian." Mal smiled, and let out a sigh of relief. Good, so she did still have a low opinion of him.
"Why, do you like her?" Mal gaped at Simon.
"What? No! I'm just wondering because she hasn't been right since that whole incident a month ago."
"Ah yes, well right now I think she's just employing your protection in her own way."
"Well that I can deal with. Do you-?" Simon inched his way down the roof, his slim body tense as he neared the ladder.
"I don't know very much about Inara, but I know that whatever her secrets are she's still a good person." Mal nodded as he started his descent.
***
On the ground, just around the corner of the pen Denny Lee Frye and his little brother Ben sat watching River sleep on the table. Her purple hair was all over her head in short spikes, while her thin frame was wrapped up tight in her dress as the world passed her by. Being young, the two boys were thinking of ways to get into trouble, mainly by bothering the sleeping girl.
"Think we should put a frog on her?" Denny shook his head, River was a lot of things, but she didn't seem to be the type to get upset over a frog. There was something though.
"You know what I heard?"
"What?"
"I heard Kaylee telling Mom that she's afriad of blue stuff." Ben looked over at River. His nose wrinkling as he thought about what his older brother had said. What kind of person was afraid of blue stuff?
"Why's that?"
"I dunno, but I got an idea." Denny produced a jar of blue paint from behind his back. Smirking at his younger sibling he began creeping across the ground towards the table, his hands working the jar of the paint open as he went.
***
The air felt nice. Cool on her skin, like a breath of a baby. River rolled on her back, and stretched. After her nap, she felt better, less worn from trying to keep a hold of the silence. It was getting easier everytime she did it, and already she had moments where she didn't notice that she was doing it, but without the full use of her amygdala it was hard having to do it manually.
Opening her eyes she looked up at the sky, and smiled. There was a shade of blue that didn't bother her. The sky had never held any bad things, just happy memories like Serenity, and Simon. Thin wisps of clouds drifted by overhead, their light forms causing her to grin uncontrollably as she reached up to trace their outlines.
Oh God!
River's eyes widened as she looked at her hands, and arms which were thouroughly coated with blue paint. Sitting bolt upright she looked down at the smears of blue that were streaked across her dress, and all over the table. Shrinking away from it she stared down at her hands in horror as the paint began to darken as it dried. The sensation of the hardening liquid feeling as though the blue hands themselves were clamping down on her arms.
River screamed, her brother Simon dropping the tools he had in his arms, and racing over to where she stood next to the table. Terrified she stared at the hideous paint marring her, she had to get it off, it had to come off before it could get through her skin, the blue was everywhere! Looking about River panicked as she saw nothing, but wait - a knife was on the end of the table. Marylin had left it there when she had finished cutting her herbs.
Grabbing it, River began trying to get rid of the blue paint. Simon almost upon her as the blade slipped and a nasty gash ran the length of her pale forearm. The knife hit the ground as River watched the red swell out of the wound, and wash over the blue. A sigh of relief escaping her lips as the hated color began to go away.
Simon stopped dead in his tracks as his sister held her wounded arm out to him, a pleased smile on her face despite the pain she was feeling. Her brother's shaking as he saw all of the progress she had made slip away right before his eyes.
"It's okay now Simon, I made the blue go away." Mal looked at River who had blue paint on her, her majority of it on her arms and hands. Grabbing a towel that Marylin had left behind he wrapped it around her arm, and tried to keep pressure on the cut.
"Hey what did I tell you about that stuff?" River's eyes were glazing over, not from bloodloss, but because she was starting to slip into her safe place. The place where yellow flowers grew, and she could hear the ocean. Mal's voice however seemed to have a magnetic efect on her when she started to slip. The silence was still there, just waves from Mal's ocean as she sensed their throb, but not their current. That was always so frustrating.
"Not to play with knives." Mal shook his head, Simon was finally back to his own senses, and yelling at Denny who had come up and been stupid enough to confess to being the one who'd covered River in the paint. Marylin had arrived on scene, and now Kaylee and her Mom were trying to keep Simon from strangling Denny. Mal distantly heard Simon scream that he was going to break the boy's neck, but for some reason he was caught up in River.
"No, the other one about doing this stuff to yourself."
"It's never so bad as to cause pain." Mal heard Denny scream, and then Kaylee as Simon got hold of her brother. Mal noticed that everything was seemingly in slow motion, Jayne running up from the field with Inara as a small riot broke out between Simon and the rest of the Frye's.
"River what are you doing?" asked Mal. He'd looked to his left to see what the hell was going on with Simon, and saw something disturbing. He saw himself sitting on the bench next to the table holding River's injured arm, his face titled towars the girl's as she stared down into his eyes. Behind them Simon had hold of Denny by the shirt, his face contorted with rage as he tried his best to get both hands around the boy's neck, but Kaylee and Jayne were holding him. Marylin herself reaching for her nephew, but the lad was saved by his mother who got between all of them while he ran for cover.
Mal looked back at River who was now sitting on a long black log. The farm had vanished entirely, replaced by a long meadow that stretched all the way down to the sandbar that served as a shore bordering a vast ocean. Shaking, Mal looked around at the alien landscape, fear settling into the very bottom of his stomach as he realized that in all likelihood he wasn't hallucinating.
"River where are we?" The girl looked over at him as if he'd asked her whether or not the sky was blue. Smiling, she waved her hand over the area.
"This is my ocean. I come here when it becomes to much for me out there. I was almost here, when I heard you, and I wanted to try and hold on to what was out there to be normal, but I couldn't. There was too much blue." Mal looked around.
"Is this real?"
"There's no such thing as reality Mal, at least not here." River picked a flower, and held it in her hands. A small orange butterfly flew out from between her fingers causing her to laugh as it fluttered away. Mal looked at the terrain, its features familiar yet- Reynolds paused, his dark eyes settling on a clump of bushes to his right. At first they didn't look very unusual, until the light struck on of the flowers showing that it was a rose made of glass.
"...In my mind Mal, there is an ocean wide and blue, with roses made of crystal, and trees carved from obsidian on cliffs of red stone." Remembering what the girl had said almost two months ago, he looked behind him and saw the cliffs. They were made out of sandstone that was as red as blood, while atop them grew twisted trees with jet black trunks, and silver leaves.
Cautiously he walked down to the shore, the sand beneath his feet was made out of grey pebbles that crushed down into sand with each step he took. Forcing himself, he stood atop one of the nearby rocks, and looked out over the green water.
There were holes in the ocean. Deep chasms where the water bordered around them, but he could see small trickles of water flowing into them. Some were half-full, others almost the same level as the rest of the terrain, while some were just empty. Mal understood with a shudder of fear. He was in River's mind, this was the ocean that she was always talking about that represented the damage she had suffered.
Frightened, he looked to his left, his eyes seeing another pice of the girl's broken reality. On the shore a short distance away from River was a duplicate of herself, standing in the meadow watching as the large sun tried to rise, but couldn't because of heavy black lines that kept it tethered to the horizon.
"Who is she?" River looked over at Mal, then the duplicate. She was animate, her eyes following the salvage captain as he walked, but when he got close to her she just walked away from him. Her body fading out into almost-nothingness as his hand reached for her arm.
"Oh her? She's the last gate that holds the water to the holes in the ocean." This was the fabled gate? The supposed key to her sanity and health? If that was so what was she doing there at the ocean, instead of wherever she was supposed to be.
"Isn't she supposed to help you?" River looked over at 'the gate'. "From what you've said she's all you need to get better."
"She is, but you wouldn't understand why I leave her alone." Mal sat down next to River. He remembered one of her more recent riddles, where she told Simon that fear kept the gate locked.
"Are you afriad of her?" River shook her head.
"I am afraid to become her. I am afraid that when I do, she will only go away again if the blue hands come, and take her from me." Mal looked out over at the sun. The duplicate walked forward, her arm raised as she pointed at a crack in the sun that soon disappeared. The golden orb climbing higher as it lost one of the ties that held it down. Frowning River peered at the sun, the crack re-appeared, and the duplicate walked morosely away from the shore.
"You have to go now."
"Huh?"
"You have to go." Mal turned to look at the scene behind him. Simon was trying to move River, but she had a death-grip on Mal who was just staring as Kaylee tried to bring him around. He understood.
"River, I just want to tell you something."
"What?"
"You can't live in fear forever. One of these days you're going to have that other part of you finish what she's been doing, and I hope you let her do that sooner than later."
"It isn't your mind Mal."
"Mal?" Reynolds blinked as Kaylee gave him another good shake. Marylin was standing nearby looking apprehansive, her blue eyes wide as she watched Mal literally fall over onto the ground. His entire body felt as if he had spent the day hanging upside down, his head ringing as he tried to sit up. Simon picked up a catatonic River, and looked at Mal.
"What happened?" he asked as Jayne took a cautious step back. Mal lay in Kaylee's arms. For some reason it hurt whenever he tried to focus his eyes which were currently telling him it was dark outside, even though he could feel the sun on his face.
"I was talking to River." Kaylee looked over at her unresponsive friend, and then back at the captin who was just lying against her weakly. His body limp, until it tightened just enough for him to writhe feebly.
"Captain, River's having a fit. She can't talk."
"Yeah she can. I saw her ocean." Marylin knelt beside Mal, a small penlight appearing out of one of the pockets on her ubiquitos vest. The man's pupils were the size of dinner plates, his skin pale, and clammy.
"Mal do you know where you are?" Mal shook his head. It wasn't so much that he didn't know where he was, his problem lay in the fact that he couldn't understand the question very well.
"On the ground?"
"Is there something wrong? Are you in pain?" Marylin's voice sounded vry far away, he just wanted to sleep.
"My head hurts."
"Jayne help me get him into the house, we can't let him go to sleep."
"What did she do to him? He looks like he's dying!" Mal felt Kaylee grab his ankles, and Jayne's arms under his own. "She did one of those witch-things to him didn't she?"
"No Jayne, she didn't hex him."
"Don't tell me that ruttin' nonsense, this is a hex if I've seen one!"
"I'll hex you if you don't knock it off, and carry the man!" Jayne shut his mouth, and with Kaylee managed to get Mal upstairs into his bedroom. Laying him on the bed, the old woman shooed them both out as she started mixing together a tonic.
"I don't care what anyone says," growled Jayne as he left. "If she hexed him, I'll burn her at the stake myself." Marylin turned around, and looked at Jayne who was standing in the doorway of the room. She was a small woman to be sure, but there was no fear in her as she marched over to where the mercenary stood.
"You harm one hair on that girl's head Jayne Cobb, and by God I'll do to you what I did to Billy Purdy. Now get out of this room, and the next time I see you which will be in five minutes you'd beter have a pot of hot water in your hands from the kitchen stove." Jayne stood there for a minute glaring at Marylin before leaving. Alone, the older woman went over to where Mal lay, and began examining him.
"Great, synaptic shock, and no node-stims."
"You mean these?" Marylin froze. Her slight frame turning to see Simon standing in the room holding the small devices in his hand. The Hearler chewed her lip as she realized that the boy's ability to maks his emotions gave him an advantage in the fact that she couldn't sense him. Obviously, by the look on his face this was one slip that she wasn't easily going to talk her way out of.
"Yes." Carefully she took them out of his hand, and applied them to Mal's temples. Setting them at just the right frequency, she waited for them to do their job while Simon just watched.
" For you to know to set them at exactly 750 hz, you must have done this before - alot."
"I was in the war."
"Node-stims weren't used in the Independent War, except by the Alliance." Marylin silently swore.
"Look, you're an intelligent young man. Obviously I am not going to tell you a damn thing, other than what you need to know."
"I think I need to know seeing as how you're the one who's been so very interested in my sister since we got here. For all I know-"
"You couldn't be further from the truth." said Marylin quietly. There was something about the way she turned her head, that caused Simon to feel that same sense of familiarity full force. Her face, her eyes, even the way she wore her hair reminded him of someone, but who?
"You were an Alliance doctor once weren't you?" The older woman smiled bitterly.
"A long time ago, but I promise you Simon I ain't like them. Because if I were, ask youself this: Why am I clear out here in the territories?" A moan from Mal drew her attention, the node-stims apparently doing their job. Simon thought about what she said. If she were still active in the Alliance, she most likely wouldn't be living clear out in the border worlds.
Not unless she was on the run like himself.
"Are you really Kaylee's aunt?" Marylin gave the other doctor a flat look.
"Is space black? Thought so. Please go see about your sister instead of bothering me. Mal will be fine, I promise." Simon reluctantly nodded, and stepped out into the hall. He hoped that Marylin hadn't picked up on it, but now he was more determined then ever to figure out who Marylin Lee Frye really was, and why she had been living on Carousel for the past thirty years.
(Note: Sorry this took so long! Real life has been busy, and I finally just got some time to work on my fics! Thank you for all of your patience, and please enjoy the story!)
VI
"So what do you think of Carousel?" Simon looked up from the book he was reading, and over at Kaylee who was winding yarn around a spool. Since yesterday the pig had been hauled back to it's original farm by Paul who apologized for Jennie, and promised Marylin that she could have some of the pork. The matter of the molding however had yet to be settled, but until an arrangement could be made the rest of Kaylee's brothers were currently patching it up before any mites got inside, and started eating the untreated wood.
"I think its...interesting." Simon was still bruised from his chase with the boar. The tale of his unfortunate run-in with the animal had been the cause of most of the laughter at the dinner table last night. Personally, having nearly been killed by the pig in question he hadn't thought the matter all that funny, but had smiled politely anyway.
"You don't like it do you?" This time it was Kaylee's mother Hannah who spoke. Like her daughter she had a healthy frame, flame red hair, and the unique ability to read between the lines of even the most neutral of conversations. Simon hastily shook his head.
"What? No, I like it just fine. It's just that-"
"It's a territory world?" Both mother and daugher were staring at the doctor expecantly as they waited for an answer. On the one hand if he said that he did hate it, Simon was probably going to end up walking back to Serenity rather than sleep in the barn once they turned him out, on the other he could try the other half of the truth.
"It's not an environment that I'm used to. Things are different out here." Hannah smiled, and picked up another spool, her nimble fingers easily wrapping a length of yarn around the narrow wand.
"Well Simon if you're going to live out here among us Independents, you're going to have to get used to us. A man can't live between the past and future forever."
"I'm not trying to do that, I'm just-"
"Trying to keep hold of yourself? You don't have to change everything you are just to fit in Simon," said Hannah quetly. "All you have to do is simply adapt."
"Yeah," said Kaylee as she tossed another finished spool into her mother's bag of sewing supplies. "When you first came aboard Serenity remember how you were afraid to eat with your hands?"
"I wasn't afraid," said Simon thinking about the incident in question."I was just taught that a gentleman doesn't eat with his fingers."
"But you learned how now didn't you?"
"I don't see the point."
"The point Kaylee is trying to make dear is that you're still Simon, but you've learned to take on some of the customs out here to better adjust. That sound right to you Kaylee?" Kaylee nodded, and started another spool.
"Yeah, like when a tadpole becomes a frog." said Kaylee. "See when you first came out here you were a tadpole, and now you're growing into a frog." Simon smiled thinly, and set down his book. Standing up he stiffly walked down the stairs, with his back straight.
"Oo, I think he's mad. Simon are you mad?"
"Ribbit." Hannah just groaned as Kaylee dissolved into a mess of giggles, a wry grin on Simon's face as he headed off to see if there was something else to do around the farm to keep his attention. River was perfectly content learning about being a Healer from Marylin who was willing to let the girl pour over her books, plants, and currently watch as the older woman cooked something in a large cauldron over an open fire. He didn't know what it was, but the liquid was giving off a faint sweet odor that was reminiscient of ginger.
"Hello Simon." Simon waved at his sister who was languidly stretched out on the table amongst Marylin's ingredients watching her cook the mystery liquid, her eyes rapt as she watched the woman measure out the ground herbs into the pot. Walking over, he peered at one of her books that was lying open on the table.
Inside were carefully written notes, but what caught his eye was a series of dots carefully arranged into a neat hexagonal design - the diagram for the molecular structure of a drug. Frowning, he examined it's components. It was heprol, a substance that was usually administered to young children as a treatment for Settler's Lung - a disease that caused the sufferer to expereince severe couging fits that if left untreated caused permanent damage to the lining of the lungs.
Marylin noticed Simon examining the book, and casually walked over to where he stood. The younger man was now peering at her through narrowed eyes, his mind turning over possibilites as he once more tried to place that feeling he had whenever he looked at the older woman. It wasn't a negative vibe he got from her, or a sinister one, but a sense of familiarity whenever he looked at her. It was as if he had known her before, but it wasn't likely since Kaylee said her aunt hadn't been off-world since before the start of the first conflicts between Independents and Alliance.
That had been over twenty years ago.
Simon just smiled as Marylin casually closed the book, the volume sliding away from the boy as she tried to keep him from seeing what she had written. She knew that there was no harm in River looking at her material, but Simon was another matter.
He might recognize her.
"See something you like?" she asked lightly. Simon shook his head, his eyes wandering from the pot, to Marylin, River, and back again.
"Not really, I just wanted to see what you were doing."
"Ah." Marylin shuddered inwardly. There was a change in Simon now, his emotions were hard to track, and if she didn't know any better he was supressing them. Smiling, she fought as River began prodding at her defenses. Between the two of them, the woman was almost a nervous wreck. "Well as you can see, I'm merely making a tonic for when we have spring cough."
"You mean Settler's Lung?" Marylin's eyes flickered up to Simon who was still smiling neutrally.
"I'm not sure what it would be called in the Alliance," Marylin passed the book over to River. "Out here we call it spring cough."
"I see, well I suppose then that your tonic would make a difference. Tell me, who originally made it? I'm always curious about the origin of territory medicines, especially given the lack of information available on medicinal botany." Marylin's blue eyes narrowed as she stared at Simon. With a little more insight, he might place her. She had to curb that train of thought, and quickly.
"Trial and error is how many of us Healers find the right herb combinations. Believe me Simon, out here we have to use our wits. Not everyone is blessed with the gift of precious Alliance education." Simon immediately regretted saying anything. The last thing he wanted to do was offend the older woman, and if she was insensed against him it would be almost impossible to find out more.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend. Sometimes, my curiousity can make me seem a bit rude."
"Or ungainly like an elephant dancing." said River softly as she flipped through the book. Unlike her brother, she had learned everything there was to know about Marylin within seconds of meeting her. The only problem was that knowledge was locked into her mind, not because of her condition, but by choice. Marylin was not a dangerous person, and as far as River was concerned she was in more need of healing than most of her patients. Simon looked about for an exit, and spied the barn where Mal and the rest of the crew were laying shingles.
What Kaylee and her mother had said was still fresh in his mind. It was obvious that he and River would probably be living out in the territories for quite some time, barring a miracle pardon from the Alliance, as a result she was right when she said that he should try to get a better understanding of Independent ways.
"I think I'll see if Mal needs me."
"Do that." Walking over to one of the ladders, Simon peered up for a few minutes before ascending. He wasn't very fond of heights after an accident when he was eight, and had climbed a tree in a nearby park. However, he was almost always in space aboard Serenity, and if he fell there he would literally fall forever.
Once again, logic did away with any reservations or fears that had been lurking in the corners of his mind.
Mal, Jayne, Marcus, and Denny were all on the roof. Wash had opted out wanting to spend some time on a nearby lake with Zoe, but what surprised him was the fact that Inara was sitting on the peak of the roof. Her pale skin perfectly shaded under a white parasol, while she watched the men work. Her sharp eyes immediately spotting the doctor as he stood watching from his spot on the ladder.
"Simon, how pleasant. Would you like to come sit next to me?" Simon looked up at the mess of naked wood, boards, shingles, and bags of nails. It looked like a minefield, with hammers and various tools scattered about. Mal, Jayne, and Denny stopped working. Thier eyes glued on the doctor as he carefully chose his next words.
"Um, actually I was thinking about lending a hand." Mal and Jayne burst out laughing, while Marcus and Denny tried their best to keep a straight face.
"Ah no offense there Simon, but you're a doctor." Simon shrugged, and crawled up onto the roof. Having never done so before he ended up doing it the hard way, by snaking across it on his hands and knees rather than risking standing up.
"True, but as I see it if River can learn to be a healer, then in theory I should be able to learn how to fix a hole in a barn roof." Mal looked over at Simon who was waiting patiently for an answer. He could tell that there was something behind the doctor's sudden interest in mingling with the men on the roof, but he really didn't have the mind for figuring it out at the moment.
"Show me you can stand up, and we'll go from there." Simon's face turned white as a sheet as he looked behind him down at the ground. It was about a ten-foot drop off of the roof, and it would be even more painful if he were to fall from his position intstead of the very edge. On the other hand, he supposed that by standing up it would show that he was serious about trying his hand at roofing. Carefully he shifted himself around into a position where he could get his legs under him, and moving slowly managed to get into a half-stooping half-upright position. Seeing the look of sheer terror on the boy's face, Mal decided that was good enough.
"Go and grab that red hammer over there, and that piece of quarter planking." Simon got the hammer, but looked around at the array of boards. Inara cleared her throat, and pointed to a thin piece to his left.
"I believe that's it." Jayne, Mal, and Marcus looked up at the Companion who merely smiled as she twirled her parasol.
"One of my clients is an architect." she explained. "He built the desk in my bedroom as a present for my birthday."
"I thought he built your bed?" asked Mal as he took the wood from Simon. Inara smiled, and twirled her parasol.
"Actually, made the desk as an apology for breaking my bed." Jayne arched an eyebrow, while Mal looked over at Marcus who was grinning wildy.
"Quit that grinnin' before I tell your momma." Marcus adopted a sour expression that was a mirror image of his cousin Kaylee's.
"Grump."
***
"Isn't this beautiful?" Zoe opened her eyes and looked at Wash who was lazily rowing them through Willow Lake, the deep body of water earning it's name not from the multitude of wiry trees that banked it's shore, but because about fifty years ago Willow Lee Frye the youngest of Kaylee's Great Aunt Mabel's children drowned in it while skating in the winter.
A small rose bush growing on a tiny lump of earth jutting up out of the water had supposedly been planted there in memory of the little girl. Zoe looked at the delicate orange blooms as they floated past it. Butterflies dancing about the bush as they harvested it's sweet crop of pollen. Their wings shining brilliantly in the sun.
"It's lovely honey." she said as he pointed them towards a small island on the south side of the lake. "Where are we going now."
"Well I was thinking that we would dock over there, and have lunch."
"Mmk." Zoe relaxed in the boat, her mind wandering as she thought of everything from Mal, to River, and finally the ever-present matter of coming up with a name for her unborn child. Earlier in the day Simon had been kind enough to suggest a few, but 'Vincent' for a boy and 'Winifred' for a girl were not exactly high on her list. It had to be something unique, yet not silly in that it caused more problems than it was worth. Her parents had kept it simple - Zoe, although with Wash with the name his parent's had given him it was easy to see why he kept with his nickname instead.
"So whatcha thinking about?"
"Names."
"Oo, any good ones."
"Not yet."
"Hear any from Kaylee's family? With that many kids they should have some good ones."
"I know 'Jennie' isn't on my list." Wash shuddered at the memories of the events from yesterday. He could still feel the talons of the chicken digging into the skin of his back. It was bad enough Jayne had gotten wind of his misfortunes. Everytime he saw the mercenray it seemed like he had a new chicken joke. Shaking his head, he returned to the matter at hand.
"How about River?" Zoe's mouth turned down at the corners.
"Unh-uh, that poor kid has enough on her mind. A child running about the ship with her name might cause problems."
"I know what you mean, at least she hasn't rubbed soup in her hair lately." Zoe smiled slightly at the thought. When River had her bad days as a result of the memories she suffered under from her ordeal at the Academy, she was prone to doing strange things such as pouring food on herself, going semi-catatonic, or flying into fits that ranged from anger to screaming in a corner whenever someone approached her. Fortunately she hadn't done any of the above lately.
"Well at any rate I'm just glad that she seems to be doing better." The shore of the lake dwindled away to a thin green bar, the dock they had lunched from invisible to them as Wash bought the small boat around into the shallows of the lake. Climbing out he floundered about in the water as he dragged the boat up a ways next to a pillar, and roped it tight. Zoe climbed out, the basket Wash had bought along in hand as her husband looked for a good spot to set up.
"How about over there?" she asked pointing to a shaded spot under a tree.
"Okay." Wash laid down a blanket, and sat down on it. His hand petting the ground as he waited for Zoe to join him. Smiling she eased herself down next to her husband who was looking rather energetic for some reason.
"You remember the first time we went out on Silver?"
"Mm-hmm." Zoe was peering in the basket at the food. There were sandwiches, small cakes, salads, meats- Wash's head was blocking her view.
"Honey? Are you in there?"
"Yes."
"So, do you remember what we did that afternoon?" Wash waggled hs eyebrows at her. Zoe recalled in full detail what they had done that afternoon in the field on Silver, three times if her memory served correct. Wash's grin grew as Zoe chuckled at the thought.
"Ah yes, and it's not going to happen dear."
"What! Zoe come on Simon said it was okay."
"I know what Simon said, but I just don't feel comfortable doing that with the baby in there."
"I'm comfortable with it." Zoe just stared at him.
"No."
"Great, so I rowed out here for nothing." Wash immediately regretted the words ever coming out of his mouth. Zoe' smile faded, and was replaced with 'the look'. Wash did not like 'the look', when Zoe gave him 'the look' it meant that any hopes of fun in the future had gone right out the window, probably with him behind it.
"You mean to tell me that all of this wasn't just to spend a nice day on shore leave? That all you bought me out here for was-"
"Well I bought food too! You know, for after." Wash cringed, yep 'the look' had changed into 'the glare'. He was humped, there was no way around it.
"Food and that, is all you can think about? I walk around everyday with fifteen pounds hanging off my gut, my ankles are the size of cucumbers, my back feels like it's being pulled in half, and you know what I'm thinking about?"
"Aspirin?"
"You! I think about you, and ways to spend time with you, but apparently the only thing you think about is eating, and THAT!"
"I don't just think about those things, I think about other things such as piloting, and how much I love you and the baby, and then I think about food and that." Zoe paused. For a second Wash thought he had a reprieve, but it was just the calm before the storm.
"So piloting is first on your list of priorities?"
"Well when I'm thinking about other things Zoe, I'm usually piloting at the same time."
"Why not think about other things when you're not piloting."
"Because then I'm usually eating or doing that." Wash snickered until he was cut off by a hunk of bread flaying at his head. Grumbling Zoe got up from her seat, and marched back down to the boat. Stunned, Wash lay there for a few seconds before the sound of oars cutting water bought him to his senses. Flying off the banket he dashed for the water only to see that Zoe was well out into the lake.
"ZOE! WAAAIIIITTTT! YOU LEFT ME BEHIND!"
"Oh really? I forgot, I was thinking about other things!" Splashing about in the shallows Wash watched her row away. Pulling off his shoes, he dove into the water and started swimming after her.
"ZOE! ZOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEE!"
***
From the trees the binoculars watched as the couple shouted at each other from their positions in the lake. The blue hands adjusting the focus as they watched the couple slowly make their way back to shore. It was still going to be another twelve to twenty-four hours before they began Phase Two, but timing was of the essence. They couldn't afford any mistakes, there was too much to lose if they failed in their mission.
***
While Wash and Zoe were busy having their differences out on the lake, Simon was helping Mal lay down the last shingles on the roof. It had taken them the better part of the day to cover the hole, but now that they were almost done one could hardly tell that a cow had crashed through it. Jayne had left sometime earlier to go with Marcus to start gathering up the various members of the Frye family, while Kaylee and the rest of her kin were gathering up food in order to start cooking for the big dinner tomorrow night.
Inara was still on the roof, her eyes following the movements of the men, and occassionally looking down at the ground where River was still lying on the table. The only change in her position was that she was now curled up on her side asleep. Simon fished a pair of nails out of his back pocket, and handed them to Mal.
After hammering one too many nails into the wood on a bad angle, accidentally hitting Mal's hand with the hammer, and finally his own the captain had decided to put the doctor on nail duty before he hurt himself or clipped Jayne which would have resulted in the younger man being tossed off the roof.
Nobody, including the doctor wanted that.
"Well I think that after we get this shingle on here, this roof will officially be finished."
"Congratulations." said Inara. "On a job well done."
"Why thank you Ambassador," said Mal as he hammered the last nails in place. "I didn't think you noticed."
"I notice everything Mal." replied Inara softly. Mal's eyes wandered up to the Companion, his mind immediately wandering to the picture he had picked up off of the floor of her shuttle. He had yet to look at it, but he couldn't help but to wonder if Inara had seen him take it.
"Well that's nice." Inara smiled, and stood up from her seat. Walking carefully, she made her way down to the ladder, and gracefully exited the roof. Mal was a very paranoid man, there was something about Inara that was unsettling him as of late, mainly the fact that since she had come running back to Serenity with the hell scared out of her she had been sticking close to Reynolds. To make matters even more bizzare, she had even been keeping the insults to a minimum with a surplus of comments coming his way rather than the former.
"Hey Simon, you and Inara are friends right?"
"Yes, she allows me to practice my cultural skills."
"That's good, but what I'm wondering is if you've noticed any change in her lately?" Simon thought for a minute as he watched the Companion walk towards the fields. Her parasol twirling as she stepped through the gate, and went to find Jayne who was waiting on the neighbor with the haycart to take him and Kaylee around to her relatives.
"Well she's being nicer to you, that's a change."
"I know, you don't think she...nah."
"Has feelings for you?" Mal dropped a hammer, and watched it slide down off the roof, and onto the ground.
"Does she Doc?" Simon shook his head emphatically.
"As far as I know her private opinion of you is that you're a good man...with the culture and grace of a barbarian." Mal smiled, and let out a sigh of relief. Good, so she did still have a low opinion of him.
"Why, do you like her?" Mal gaped at Simon.
"What? No! I'm just wondering because she hasn't been right since that whole incident a month ago."
"Ah yes, well right now I think she's just employing your protection in her own way."
"Well that I can deal with. Do you-?" Simon inched his way down the roof, his slim body tense as he neared the ladder.
"I don't know very much about Inara, but I know that whatever her secrets are she's still a good person." Mal nodded as he started his descent.
***
On the ground, just around the corner of the pen Denny Lee Frye and his little brother Ben sat watching River sleep on the table. Her purple hair was all over her head in short spikes, while her thin frame was wrapped up tight in her dress as the world passed her by. Being young, the two boys were thinking of ways to get into trouble, mainly by bothering the sleeping girl.
"Think we should put a frog on her?" Denny shook his head, River was a lot of things, but she didn't seem to be the type to get upset over a frog. There was something though.
"You know what I heard?"
"What?"
"I heard Kaylee telling Mom that she's afriad of blue stuff." Ben looked over at River. His nose wrinkling as he thought about what his older brother had said. What kind of person was afraid of blue stuff?
"Why's that?"
"I dunno, but I got an idea." Denny produced a jar of blue paint from behind his back. Smirking at his younger sibling he began creeping across the ground towards the table, his hands working the jar of the paint open as he went.
***
The air felt nice. Cool on her skin, like a breath of a baby. River rolled on her back, and stretched. After her nap, she felt better, less worn from trying to keep a hold of the silence. It was getting easier everytime she did it, and already she had moments where she didn't notice that she was doing it, but without the full use of her amygdala it was hard having to do it manually.
Opening her eyes she looked up at the sky, and smiled. There was a shade of blue that didn't bother her. The sky had never held any bad things, just happy memories like Serenity, and Simon. Thin wisps of clouds drifted by overhead, their light forms causing her to grin uncontrollably as she reached up to trace their outlines.
Oh God!
River's eyes widened as she looked at her hands, and arms which were thouroughly coated with blue paint. Sitting bolt upright she looked down at the smears of blue that were streaked across her dress, and all over the table. Shrinking away from it she stared down at her hands in horror as the paint began to darken as it dried. The sensation of the hardening liquid feeling as though the blue hands themselves were clamping down on her arms.
River screamed, her brother Simon dropping the tools he had in his arms, and racing over to where she stood next to the table. Terrified she stared at the hideous paint marring her, she had to get it off, it had to come off before it could get through her skin, the blue was everywhere! Looking about River panicked as she saw nothing, but wait - a knife was on the end of the table. Marylin had left it there when she had finished cutting her herbs.
Grabbing it, River began trying to get rid of the blue paint. Simon almost upon her as the blade slipped and a nasty gash ran the length of her pale forearm. The knife hit the ground as River watched the red swell out of the wound, and wash over the blue. A sigh of relief escaping her lips as the hated color began to go away.
Simon stopped dead in his tracks as his sister held her wounded arm out to him, a pleased smile on her face despite the pain she was feeling. Her brother's shaking as he saw all of the progress she had made slip away right before his eyes.
"It's okay now Simon, I made the blue go away." Mal looked at River who had blue paint on her, her majority of it on her arms and hands. Grabbing a towel that Marylin had left behind he wrapped it around her arm, and tried to keep pressure on the cut.
"Hey what did I tell you about that stuff?" River's eyes were glazing over, not from bloodloss, but because she was starting to slip into her safe place. The place where yellow flowers grew, and she could hear the ocean. Mal's voice however seemed to have a magnetic efect on her when she started to slip. The silence was still there, just waves from Mal's ocean as she sensed their throb, but not their current. That was always so frustrating.
"Not to play with knives." Mal shook his head, Simon was finally back to his own senses, and yelling at Denny who had come up and been stupid enough to confess to being the one who'd covered River in the paint. Marylin had arrived on scene, and now Kaylee and her Mom were trying to keep Simon from strangling Denny. Mal distantly heard Simon scream that he was going to break the boy's neck, but for some reason he was caught up in River.
"No, the other one about doing this stuff to yourself."
"It's never so bad as to cause pain." Mal heard Denny scream, and then Kaylee as Simon got hold of her brother. Mal noticed that everything was seemingly in slow motion, Jayne running up from the field with Inara as a small riot broke out between Simon and the rest of the Frye's.
"River what are you doing?" asked Mal. He'd looked to his left to see what the hell was going on with Simon, and saw something disturbing. He saw himself sitting on the bench next to the table holding River's injured arm, his face titled towars the girl's as she stared down into his eyes. Behind them Simon had hold of Denny by the shirt, his face contorted with rage as he tried his best to get both hands around the boy's neck, but Kaylee and Jayne were holding him. Marylin herself reaching for her nephew, but the lad was saved by his mother who got between all of them while he ran for cover.
Mal looked back at River who was now sitting on a long black log. The farm had vanished entirely, replaced by a long meadow that stretched all the way down to the sandbar that served as a shore bordering a vast ocean. Shaking, Mal looked around at the alien landscape, fear settling into the very bottom of his stomach as he realized that in all likelihood he wasn't hallucinating.
"River where are we?" The girl looked over at him as if he'd asked her whether or not the sky was blue. Smiling, she waved her hand over the area.
"This is my ocean. I come here when it becomes to much for me out there. I was almost here, when I heard you, and I wanted to try and hold on to what was out there to be normal, but I couldn't. There was too much blue." Mal looked around.
"Is this real?"
"There's no such thing as reality Mal, at least not here." River picked a flower, and held it in her hands. A small orange butterfly flew out from between her fingers causing her to laugh as it fluttered away. Mal looked at the terrain, its features familiar yet- Reynolds paused, his dark eyes settling on a clump of bushes to his right. At first they didn't look very unusual, until the light struck on of the flowers showing that it was a rose made of glass.
"...In my mind Mal, there is an ocean wide and blue, with roses made of crystal, and trees carved from obsidian on cliffs of red stone." Remembering what the girl had said almost two months ago, he looked behind him and saw the cliffs. They were made out of sandstone that was as red as blood, while atop them grew twisted trees with jet black trunks, and silver leaves.
Cautiously he walked down to the shore, the sand beneath his feet was made out of grey pebbles that crushed down into sand with each step he took. Forcing himself, he stood atop one of the nearby rocks, and looked out over the green water.
There were holes in the ocean. Deep chasms where the water bordered around them, but he could see small trickles of water flowing into them. Some were half-full, others almost the same level as the rest of the terrain, while some were just empty. Mal understood with a shudder of fear. He was in River's mind, this was the ocean that she was always talking about that represented the damage she had suffered.
Frightened, he looked to his left, his eyes seeing another pice of the girl's broken reality. On the shore a short distance away from River was a duplicate of herself, standing in the meadow watching as the large sun tried to rise, but couldn't because of heavy black lines that kept it tethered to the horizon.
"Who is she?" River looked over at Mal, then the duplicate. She was animate, her eyes following the salvage captain as he walked, but when he got close to her she just walked away from him. Her body fading out into almost-nothingness as his hand reached for her arm.
"Oh her? She's the last gate that holds the water to the holes in the ocean." This was the fabled gate? The supposed key to her sanity and health? If that was so what was she doing there at the ocean, instead of wherever she was supposed to be.
"Isn't she supposed to help you?" River looked over at 'the gate'. "From what you've said she's all you need to get better."
"She is, but you wouldn't understand why I leave her alone." Mal sat down next to River. He remembered one of her more recent riddles, where she told Simon that fear kept the gate locked.
"Are you afriad of her?" River shook her head.
"I am afraid to become her. I am afraid that when I do, she will only go away again if the blue hands come, and take her from me." Mal looked out over at the sun. The duplicate walked forward, her arm raised as she pointed at a crack in the sun that soon disappeared. The golden orb climbing higher as it lost one of the ties that held it down. Frowning River peered at the sun, the crack re-appeared, and the duplicate walked morosely away from the shore.
"You have to go now."
"Huh?"
"You have to go." Mal turned to look at the scene behind him. Simon was trying to move River, but she had a death-grip on Mal who was just staring as Kaylee tried to bring him around. He understood.
"River, I just want to tell you something."
"What?"
"You can't live in fear forever. One of these days you're going to have that other part of you finish what she's been doing, and I hope you let her do that sooner than later."
"It isn't your mind Mal."
"Mal?" Reynolds blinked as Kaylee gave him another good shake. Marylin was standing nearby looking apprehansive, her blue eyes wide as she watched Mal literally fall over onto the ground. His entire body felt as if he had spent the day hanging upside down, his head ringing as he tried to sit up. Simon picked up a catatonic River, and looked at Mal.
"What happened?" he asked as Jayne took a cautious step back. Mal lay in Kaylee's arms. For some reason it hurt whenever he tried to focus his eyes which were currently telling him it was dark outside, even though he could feel the sun on his face.
"I was talking to River." Kaylee looked over at her unresponsive friend, and then back at the captin who was just lying against her weakly. His body limp, until it tightened just enough for him to writhe feebly.
"Captain, River's having a fit. She can't talk."
"Yeah she can. I saw her ocean." Marylin knelt beside Mal, a small penlight appearing out of one of the pockets on her ubiquitos vest. The man's pupils were the size of dinner plates, his skin pale, and clammy.
"Mal do you know where you are?" Mal shook his head. It wasn't so much that he didn't know where he was, his problem lay in the fact that he couldn't understand the question very well.
"On the ground?"
"Is there something wrong? Are you in pain?" Marylin's voice sounded vry far away, he just wanted to sleep.
"My head hurts."
"Jayne help me get him into the house, we can't let him go to sleep."
"What did she do to him? He looks like he's dying!" Mal felt Kaylee grab his ankles, and Jayne's arms under his own. "She did one of those witch-things to him didn't she?"
"No Jayne, she didn't hex him."
"Don't tell me that ruttin' nonsense, this is a hex if I've seen one!"
"I'll hex you if you don't knock it off, and carry the man!" Jayne shut his mouth, and with Kaylee managed to get Mal upstairs into his bedroom. Laying him on the bed, the old woman shooed them both out as she started mixing together a tonic.
"I don't care what anyone says," growled Jayne as he left. "If she hexed him, I'll burn her at the stake myself." Marylin turned around, and looked at Jayne who was standing in the doorway of the room. She was a small woman to be sure, but there was no fear in her as she marched over to where the mercenary stood.
"You harm one hair on that girl's head Jayne Cobb, and by God I'll do to you what I did to Billy Purdy. Now get out of this room, and the next time I see you which will be in five minutes you'd beter have a pot of hot water in your hands from the kitchen stove." Jayne stood there for a minute glaring at Marylin before leaving. Alone, the older woman went over to where Mal lay, and began examining him.
"Great, synaptic shock, and no node-stims."
"You mean these?" Marylin froze. Her slight frame turning to see Simon standing in the room holding the small devices in his hand. The Hearler chewed her lip as she realized that the boy's ability to maks his emotions gave him an advantage in the fact that she couldn't sense him. Obviously, by the look on his face this was one slip that she wasn't easily going to talk her way out of.
"Yes." Carefully she took them out of his hand, and applied them to Mal's temples. Setting them at just the right frequency, she waited for them to do their job while Simon just watched.
" For you to know to set them at exactly 750 hz, you must have done this before - alot."
"I was in the war."
"Node-stims weren't used in the Independent War, except by the Alliance." Marylin silently swore.
"Look, you're an intelligent young man. Obviously I am not going to tell you a damn thing, other than what you need to know."
"I think I need to know seeing as how you're the one who's been so very interested in my sister since we got here. For all I know-"
"You couldn't be further from the truth." said Marylin quietly. There was something about the way she turned her head, that caused Simon to feel that same sense of familiarity full force. Her face, her eyes, even the way she wore her hair reminded him of someone, but who?
"You were an Alliance doctor once weren't you?" The older woman smiled bitterly.
"A long time ago, but I promise you Simon I ain't like them. Because if I were, ask youself this: Why am I clear out here in the territories?" A moan from Mal drew her attention, the node-stims apparently doing their job. Simon thought about what she said. If she were still active in the Alliance, she most likely wouldn't be living clear out in the border worlds.
Not unless she was on the run like himself.
"Are you really Kaylee's aunt?" Marylin gave the other doctor a flat look.
"Is space black? Thought so. Please go see about your sister instead of bothering me. Mal will be fine, I promise." Simon reluctantly nodded, and stepped out into the hall. He hoped that Marylin hadn't picked up on it, but now he was more determined then ever to figure out who Marylin Lee Frye really was, and why she had been living on Carousel for the past thirty years.