Memory Lane

Chapter 5: Breaking In

Rating: PG-13

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

Nivia was in the town square when she saw the ship coming in. It was an Alliance ship. She remembered them well. The ramp came down, and Independent soldiers were thrown off. She suddenly remembered when they had taken the Valley. Mal had hidden her under a pile of bodies. He knew that if she was captured as well, that she'd never get the medical treatment she needed. She had almost gagged. And when she finally pulled herself out from under the pile of her decaying friends only to find the valley deserted.

And then, Mal stood up and brushed himself off. He looked around for her, and their eye's connected. Then, she ran to him and jumped into his arms. Her Mal was home...

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There was beeping. A loud, annoying beeping. Nivia's eye's fluttered open. The room was white, but not as bright as it could have been. Mal sat next to her, asleep in his chair, but his hand entangled in hers. "Mal?" She questioned. He sat straight up and immediately said, "I wasn't asleep, what're you talkin 'bout?" She looked at him strangely. "All I said was your name." He nodded. "Do you remember anything?" He asked.

She thought for a moment, then started to cry. She remembered everything.

"The baby?" She asked after a few minuets. Mal was silent.

She cried harder.

Inara's shuttle connected with the Alliance Cruiser. "Now remember, stay here for a while. Don't go doing anything heroic." She told Mal, collecting herself and leaving. He paced for a while, then when he couldn't wait any longer, he radioed Wash.

"I think I'm goin in." He said.

"Do you think she has the crew distracted yet?" Wash asked.

"All that woman needs to do is walk into a room and they're distracted. I'm goin in. If you don't hear from me in two hours, send in the rest of the crew in."

"But, if we don't hear from you, doesn't that most likely mean you're dead?"

"Reckon it will, but I ain't gonna leave her in there."

And then he walked off the shuttle.

"Don't be strangers, now." Nivia told the crew. She looked at Wash and said, "You take good care of my ship."

"Your ship?" Mal asked.

"Well, you bought it with our money." She told him. He smiled.

"You just keep thinkin that, woman." She said goodbye to the crew and they went onto Serenity, but Mal stayed behind. "Please come with me." He said, rubbing her upper arms. She smiled a sad smile.

"Nathan was a part of me. And now that he's gone... it just feels like a part of me is dyeing. And, I think I just have to let it die for me to move on."

"I don't want that part of you to die alone." He told her. She looked into his eyes.

"Everyone dies alone. I gotta deal with this on my own. And I can't do that if I'm over run with all them people. As much as I already love them, I gotta deal with this in my own way."

They shared on last kiss, before he got on Serenity.

The remaining officer lie dead on the floor. It felt like it had taken hours for him to make it through all the reinforcements. All though, there weren't many. Most of them were with Inara, and he had gone unnoticed by many as well. Mal walked into the bright, white room. Nivia was hidden in the corner, talking to herself. Or was she?

"Everyone dies alone. I gotta deal with this on my own. And I can't do that if I'm over run with all them people. As much as I already love them, I gotta deal with this in my own way."

Mal remembered that conversation. He squatted down in front of her. "Nivia, can you hear me?" But, her memory ended, and she instantly fell asleep. He went to pick her up.

"And just where do you think you're going?" The voice asked from behind him. Mal turned around.

"Nark?" He asked, surprised.

"It's been a long time, Malcolm." He said, stepping closer.

"So, you're the Son-of-a-bitch that decided to make my wife an experiment." Mal said, sounding angry.

"Not an experiment. I just remember all the stories Nivia had told me about your life together. I thought that the pain of reliving all that would make her crack, tell us about the Tams. Apparently, I underestimated her."

"You obviously don't know her very well, then." Mal said, going for his gun. But, Nark pointed his at Nivia. "Put the gun down, or she dies." Mal reluctantly complied.

"I really did think the memories would work..." Nark said, but trailed off, as if he was thinking about what else could have worked.

"Well, we've had a lot more good times then bad."

"But the bad ones are the one that stand out in our minds. They're what make us cringe, cry. They make us afraid and untrusting."

"Not Nivia. She's the strongest person I know. Inside and out. She's been through a lot, and that's all the more reason she don't let too much get to her. Now, I'm gonna take my wife, take my companion, and go back to my ship."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Suddenly, there was a loud bang.

"Well, you don't really got anything to say 'bout it." Jayne said from behind them, gun in hand and the rest of the crew behind them, weapons at the ready. Nark fell dead. Mal went back to Nivia and picked her up. "Lets go get 'Nara."