Yeah, the disclaimer's the same. I'm going to suggest "Imagine" - A Perfect Circle or "Alive and Amplified" - The Mooney Suzuki for this chapter. Did you review? You better.

Mal reached the hallway and thrust his weight against the ladder leading to his bunk. His mind was racing. He was so determined not to lose another one of "his" crew. Shepherd Book's recent death still rested heavily on what he supposed would pass for his conscience.

He almost fell going down the ladder, his boots losing contact with the rails. If not for his strong hands he would have most certainly plunged down to the bottom. He moved swiftly and reached the floor with a hard thunk. Then he began to look around in a panic. He knew he still had the plant; its location, however, was a mystery.

Rosy Cheek Fern was a funny name for one of the only plants to survive the Battle of Serenity. Mal, a young and optimistic Browncoat in his day, had desperately wanted a souvenir of the moment when his life had drastically changed. Zoë had thought this was a very stupid idea, but she hadn't fought him when he'd knelt down and gently pulled up a plant, roots and all, and tucked it in his brown coat. He'd had that fern since the day they'd lost the battle at Serenity, and it had grown right along with him. He had put it in a series of ugly terra cotta pots, small but usually perfectly effective. It had grown and flourished, even in the dark of his bunk. Apparently, according to all the plant journals he'd read in secret, the Rosy Cheek Fern's one saving grace was that it didn't need sunlight. Or water. Or much of anything, except, apparently, somewhere to live and grow and bloom. And bloom it had.

Mal's roving eyes found the terra cotta pot in the corner and he grabbed it. Running over to the ladder, he hurriedly climbed up, the pot tucked under his arm. Once he had reached the main deck, he ran for the infirmary, not even bothering to close the ladder to his bunk. Hopefully the plant could be utilized quickly, and wouldn't need to be crushed into a powder and made into a tea or anything yu ben de like that.

"Here – it – is!" he gasped, thrusting the pot at Rupert. Simon looked up, his eyes tear-filled and dull. "She still breathin', Doc?"

Simon nodded.

"Then we still got time. What d' we do, Rupert?" Mal demanded.

"She has to eat some of the live leaves," Rupert said simply.

"Eat it? She's almost dead!" Mal found he was shouting at the older man.

"Look, that's what she has to do. Please lower your voice or they'll think something's wrong."

Mal started to ask who he was talking about, but then he realized that Kaylee, Jayne, Wash, Inara, Emilia, Carole, Antony, and Kolya were at the infirmary windows, looking in. All of their faces were tight and nervous. He hadn't even noticed them when he'd run back in with the plant. "There is somethin' wrong, Rupert," Mal said, trying to be civil, "in case you hadn't noticed. She's dyin'."

Simon took the pot wordlessly from Rupert and ripped off a leaf or two from the live part of the plant, crushing them in his hand. "How much?" he asked dully.

"That should be enough."

He gently put the leaf in her open mouth. Mal realized that the gasps for air had become quieter, smaller. He also realized this was a bad sign. "Come on," he heard himself saying.

"Mei-mei, do this for me," Simon said into her ear, even though Rupert had said she was probably deaf. "Eat it." He looked up at Rupert. "Eat it or swallow it?"

"Either."

"Come on. Swallow. You can do that, can't you?" Simon wheedled. "Just for me."

Rupert was shaking his head, as though to say, "She can't hear you," but also as though he knew reminding the young doctor would be as futile as trying to drill a hole through solid rock by banging your head against it.

River's head fell to one side, and her eyes opened, brown to Simon's green. She was looking at him quizzically, as though to say, "What's in my mouth?" But she couldn't speak, and she couldn't hear. Then she swallowed, gagged, and swallowed again. Simon nodded encouragingly; he could no more speak than he could tap-dance at the moment (not that he had ever been able to tap-dance in the first place).

Mal was nodding fervently and his hand, without his noticing, had gripped Zoë's. He didn't have to turn around to know that everyone else was staring in with equal fervor and hope.

River closed her eyes and sighed as though she was very tired. On the monitor, her heartbeat began to slow. Rupert began to take careful steps towards the bed, his hand moving towards the monitor as though he was going to unplug it. "Son," he said quietly to Simon. Simon didn't look up. "Son, maybe it's time to…"

And then she sat bolt upright. The monitor leapt back to life, recording her heartbeat, which was rapid. Simon stood up quickly. "River…?" he asked, forgetting she couldn't hear.

"TOO LOUD!" she shouted, unable to judge how loud her voice was.

Simon held up his hands as though saying, "Hold on, calm down." To Mal, he said, "Get me a tablet! Or… something to write on! Hurry!"

Mal looked around the infirmary. He saw the tablet from earlier and ripped off the page with Kaylee's neat handwriting off, not bothering to pick the page up as it fell to the floor. He handed the tablet and a pen to Simon. Simon wrote something on it quickly and held it up for River to read: "Calm down. Let me help you."

"TOO LOUD! I HEAR ALL OF THEM!" she yelled. "THEY'RE ALL IN ME!"

This was a complication Simon hadn't counted on – the deafness, and what it would do to her. Now that she couldn't hear outside noises, he supposed that all of her internal voices were amplified greatly. He pointed to where he'd written "Calm down" and then looked up at Rupert. "What can we do?"

"Wait. Time will fix this if it's going to be fixed," Rupert managed to reply. He looked shocked and completely stunned that the plant had worked.

"We don't have time," Simon informed him. "All she can hear are voices. Not good ones, either."

"Zoë, you go tell everybody she's gonna be fine," Mal said. "Don't let on she can't hear just yet. And don't let nobody in here." Zoë moved to follow his orders.

"SIMON!" River yelled. "TOO LOUD! NOBODY CAN HEAR ME!"

He pointed again to "Calm down." Then he wrote, "You are fine. I can hear you."

"I WENT AWAY!"

He wrote: "We brought you back. You are never going anywhere again. Can you be quiet for me?"

She nodded, her eyes wide, watching him. She whispered something, too soft for him to hear. He leaned closer and she whispered in his ear in a raspy murmur, "The spy is a good heart. Make sure they don't hurt him."

He wrote: "I know." Then he wrote, "Can you hear anything?"

She nodded again. "They are all inside me. I can hear all of them. Way too loud," she whispered.

He ripped the top page off the tablet and wrote on the new page: "You have to go to sleep for awhile. I promise you are not going to go anywhere. When you wake up, you will be able to hear me again."

Her eyes went wide with fright and she whispered anxiously, "No. No sleep. They'll eat me if I sleep."

He shook his head in the negative. "You will be safe. I will watch you the whole time. You will be here. I will not let anything happen to you. When you wake up, you will be much, much better. I promise."

She read it and looked at him, worried, and he nodded hurriedly and performed one of those old-fashioned childish rituals: he crossed his heart with his index finger. She smiled wanly and then whispered, "I believe you. Always believe you."

He nodded, then looked up. "Dr. Rupert, can you hand me…"

Rupert had been following the exchange and handed him a clear vial and a needle, just what he needed. Simon drew the correct dosage and showed it to her. Her eyes were large, but she didn't move or try to stop him. Then a thought came to him; he set the needle down and picked up the tablet, scrawling: "We're going to have to restrain you just in case you wake up uncontrollable, all right? I promise that I will not harm you, I just want to make sure that you don't harm anyone else. Remember, I love you and I will not let anyone hurt you." She smiled in acquiescence. He put down the tablet and picked up the needle. She closed her eyes like she always did, and he gave her the drug. He set down the needle and waited until her body went slack. He caught her gently and lowered her back to the bed. Then he looked up. Rupert was smiling at him. "Well done, son," the older man said.

Simon stood up; his knees were shaky but he managed to stand. He looked at Mal. The captain ran his hand through his hair. "That was the bravest thing I ever saw, Doc." He clapped Simon on the shoulder. "Yer a man now."

Translations: yu ben de - stupid