Addicted

Chapter 9: Bright and White

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: If I said I owned them, I lied.

Author's Note: Alright, this story is coming to an end. There will be a sequel. The only question is, does Nivia stay and get captured by the Alliance, or does she go with them and get captured by the Alliance? Let me know. And, other comments would be nice.

"She's just such a great kid." Nivia explained to Alexandra as they set the food out on her friend's dinner table. "I can see that Jayne's annoyed with her most of the time, but there's still this... protector quality about him." Alexandra rejoined her friend at the counter. "Well, go on, then. Tell me everything." She said while pushing her long dark hair behind her ear's. Nivia just smiled.

"Tell you what?"

"You know what. Tell me about what's goin on between you and the Sergeant."

"The wars over. It's 'Captain' now." Mal said, coming through the arch way. Alexandra just rolled her eye's.

"You'll always be Sergeant to us, Malcolm Reynolds." She said, putting another bowl on the table. Mal just laughed.

"You joinin us for dinner, Captain?" Alex mocked.

"Well, I was hopin..."

"I invited him. I hope that's alright." Nivia said, walking over to him.

"No trouble at all! It's been five years since I seen him, I think it's right time for some catchin up."

"So, you must be the Malcolm Reynolds I've heard so much about." A voice boomed from behind then. Alexandra smiled. "Mal, this is my husband, Oren." She said, walking over to the man who had been talking just a moment ago.

"I'm sorry, I ain't heard you right. Did you say you were married?" Mal said with a laugh.

"Don't act so surprised, Mal." Alexandra said.

"I'm sorry it's just hard to believe. I mean, you can barely make a sandwich, let alone an actual meal." Alex lifted and eyebrow.

"Says the man who married the woman who can single-handedly burn soup." Nivia's eyes got wide. "Hey!" Mal laughed.

"Now I gotta stay for dinner. Tell Ol' Oren here all the stories of our childhood."

"This is pay back, isn't it." Alex asked. "For all that grief I gave you two when you got married."

"Gorram straight." Mal said with a smile.

Oren was quiet all through dinner, yet listening intently. "What's a'matter with you, Oren?" Nivia asked. "Oh Niv, you know he's never really that talkative." Alex said with a smile. Oren smiled weakly.

"So, tell me how you two met." Mal said, leaning forward.

"Well," Alex began, "He came to Shadow just after you left. We hit it off real fast, got married two years later. There's a baby upstairs if you wanna see her." Mal looked at Nivia, surprised.

"You never said Alex had a baby."

"She said she wanted to tell you." Mal brushed the crumbs off his pants. Nivia snuck her hand over and lightly set it on top of his. He pulled his out from underneath hers, which disappointed her, until she felt his hand fall on top of hers, still on his knee, and twin his finger's with hers. She smiled, suddenly shy.

Alex smiled, too. She knew what was going on. The two were falling back in love.

The next day, Nivia brought River to Alex's house. Her old friend had wanted to meet her new one. As they talked, Oren sat uncomfortably on the other side of the room. When River looked at him, he looked away. Then, she zeroed in on him, and focused.

She suddenly got a horrified look on her face and ran off. Nivia went after her. Alex and Oren followed. After River was at Serenity, and a whole lot of "River! Stop!" 's from Nivia, River finally stopped running. "River, What is it? What's wrong?" Nivia asked, out of breath.

"They're coming. They're coming." River kept saying. "They're coming. They're coming."

"Who's coming, bao-bei?"

"The bad men. They're coming for her." Nivia was still confused.

"River, talk to me."

River seemed to zone out, a distanced look on her face. "It's bright. Too bright. And white. White and bright. Closed in space, no where to go. No where to run."

Then, River looked at Oren, horrified. "He knows." Nivia looked at River, then to Oren, then back to River, the same expression on her face.

"What?"

"They're coming. Because he told them to. He told them where she is." No, Nivia thought. This couldn't be right. Oren was a trusted friend, not an Alliance enemy.

Then, before running onto the ship, River said again,

"He knows."