DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters to "Firefly".

A young girl of seventeen was moving about the hangar of the boat she had lived on for some time. She was gracefully floating with a dancer's ease. Her eyes were closed as she maneuvered around the many craters that filled the hangar. Only she could hear the music that was enveloping her mind. She started to move faster with each beat that echoed throughout the abyss of her head. The music so loud that she didn't realize that someone was speaking to her.

"River!" The girl stopped her dancing and looked up at the owner of the voice. "Supper is ready. Come up so we can all eat." The girl looked around- searching for the place where she had been. When she slipped back into reality, the owner of the voice was gone. She silently walked up the steps to the catwalk and continued until she found a hiding spot that was close enough to the galley to hear the conversation that was going on inside.

"How is River doing with her medication?" Shepherd asked with concern.

"She's doing better but the side effects are affecting her more." Simon said.

"Is there really that much it could effect?" Mal asked.

"I really don't know. Whatever they did to her it was horrible." Simon answered. There was a brief silence before he continued; "Where's River?"

"I'll go look for her Doc. She's probably messing with something she's not supposed to." Mal said, his voice growing louder as he slowly neared River's hiding spot. He walked along the passageway and stopped. He turned around and looked right into her eyes. She got up and followed him. They walked some ways down the passage.

"Why you hiding?" Mal asked, turning on his heel to face her.

"To hear what they really think."

Inara and Kaylee were dancing around in the biggest room in the boat: the hangar. Kaylee grabbed Simon's hand and led him to the middle where they did a quick jig- nothing glamorous, just simple. Simon backed away and left to go find his sister. River jumped up from where she was hiding on the floor and mimicked the dance she witnessed.

"You're a good dancer, River." Kaylee said. The girl gave the friendly mechanic a warm smile.

"Kaylee, we're arriving at Osiris in four days. Check to see if we need any supplies," someone said from behind the three women. They all turned to see Mal there, "Inara if you have any clients scheduled, you can contact them there." He turned on his heel and headed towards the bridge.

"We'll see you later River." Inara bade her a wave with Kaylee following at her side. The girl walked to her dorm and lay down on her bed, closing her eyes.

She cycled through her surrogate family's thoughts. They each had little secrets of their own. Inara was judging who to spend her time on the planet with. Kaylee was going through what they needed once they got to Osiris. Jayne was in his bunk, doing his routine cleaning of the numerous weapons he secretly carried. Wash was playing with the toy dinosaurs that were always with him on the bridge. Book was reading the bible that she believed made no sense. Mal was figuring out what job they could do.

But she decided to search his mind even further. Through the past on his home planet. What it felt like volunteering to fight against the Alliance. Being a Browncoat. Meeting Zoe and fighting in the war with her. Buying Serenity. Meeting Wash, Jayne, Kaylee, and Inara. That life changing day when Book, Simon, and herself arrived.

She searched further in his mind. She found something that deeply interested her. Something very interesting. Simon would be disappointed in her following actions but it would help the captain.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you like.