Opus 4

"So, what's with the kid in the passenger dorm?"

Mal glared over at Jayne. "It's my niece. It's prob'ly be best for you al to leave her alone."

They had all heard Mal say that they were picking up his niece and nephew on Vici, apparently Jayne had missed the memo. Simon cleared his throat and spoke hesitantly. "If there's anything physically wrong, I could-"

"No." How could he tell Simon that he only had a vague idea of what was wrong? "I don't want anyone in the passenger dorm except those of you who sleep there, dong ma? Jonah'll be out an' about soon enough."

"He has pretty eyes," River commented softly. "Silver. Sparkly. Like ice."

Kaylee giggled as Simon began to choke on his protein. "Look's like someone's got a crush," she chided.

River seemed confused. "Crush? Who's crushed?"

Kaylee sighed- there was so much River didn't understand, even if she was a genius. "It means-"

"It means what Kaylee's got goin' on with your brother," Jayne cut in. Zoe raised her eyebrows.

"Jayne," she commented mildly, "Leave the kids alone, would you?"

"No one has a crush on me," Wash lamented.

"You're married, Wash," Inara gently reminded the good-natured pilot. He just shrugged.

"So?"

The conversation followed in that direction for the rest of the meal. At the end, Mal motioned Inara over to him discreetly, speaking softly to her. "I need you to do me a favor. That is, if you're not too busy looking for somewhere to jump ship."

She rolled her eyes, something she had been taught never to do. "Yes?"

"I'm gonna try to get Jonah out to meet the rest of the bunch, d'you think you could check in on Breezy for me? I…" He thought about how to phrase it. "The kid seems kinda scared of me, to tell you the truth."

Inara nodded. "I'd be happy to do whatever I can, Mal."

The Companion made her way down to the passenger dorm with a plate of food about twenty minutes later. Apparently Mal had succeeded in his mission to have Jonah meet the others, because the boy was nowhere in sight. Inara knocked lightly on the door and slid it open. "Breezy?"

The small girl sitting on the bed looked up, startled. She didn't say anything, just looked at Inara with large, pale blue eyes. Inara hesitantly walked in. "I…my name's Inara, I rent the shuttle. I brought you some food, are you hungry?"

Breezy shrugged. Inara took that as a yes and proceeded further into the room. She set the tray down and looked curiously at the notebook in front of the girl. "Is that music? You're writing music?"

"It's…yeah."

Her voice sounds so young, was Inara's observation on hearing Breezy speak for the first time. "Do you mind if I look?"

"Nuh-uh. Go ahead."

Although she had been taught the basics of the dulcimer, as all Companions were, she wasn't much of a musician. However, she could tell that this piece was amazingly complex. She read the words at the top of the page.

Tango 2, Opus 141

Brianna Catherine Baxter

For Jonah

"It's a tango?"

The small girl nodded and spoke quietly. "Yeah."

"How long did it take you to write this?" Inara knew how to get people to open up to her- she had been trained for years at it. Wiles, Mal would call it. Talking about a non-threatening topic that Breezy was interested in was the best way to get her to join in the conversation.

"I started it last night. It'll be done by tomorrow. I-" Breezy caught herself, unsure about volunteering information. "I usually don't write dances. But it's for my stupid brother."

Inara smiled. "Jonah?"

"Yeah. He's so weird. What other seventeen-year-old boy dances tangos? Feng-le." She said quietly, almost like an afterthought. She brushed a strand of light blonde hair out of her eyes and caught sight of the food. "I'm not hungry."

"Your uncle and brother really want you to eat. They're worried about you."

Breezy seemed to pull back into herself. "I'm not hungry," she repeated.

Inara sighed- she could see when she wasn't going to get anywhere. "Okay. If you ever want to talk, Breezy…" It was no use. The girl had turned away and was staring down at her notebook of staff paper again. Inara silently exited the room.

X

River was interested in Jonah. She could see that there was something in his body that made him like her. She just didn't know what it was yet.

"So your brother, he's a doctor?"

"Yes. Simon. What about your sister?"

Jonah laughed slightly. It was a weird question, Breezy was only just fifteen. "She…well, she's a musician. She writes music. Mostly classical for orchestras and stuff, but sometimes jazz. And she plays…everything. Mostly piano, but she knows everything." Jonah forced himself to stop talking. Gods in their heavens, he thought, what am I doing? She asks a question and I tell her Breezy's life story? Shut up, man!

"You're worried about her. Think she's broken. Like Simon and me. Except Simon takes care of me more, and you two are more like brother and sister. Fight."

"I don't think she's broken, I know she is," Jonah muttered. "Wait," he caught himself. "What?"

"You have pretty eyes."

"Oh…" That wasn't what he was expecting to hear. "Thank you."

"They remind me of ice."

"Everyone always says that. Hey, um…I gotta go check on my sister, but maybe after we could talk more?"

River nodded. "My room's in the passenger dorm. Oh, Jonah?" she called after him as he began to talk away.

He turned. "Yeah?"

"An Argentine dance such as those composed by Piatzzola is ordinarily in duple meter. No feeling of three. Remind your sister."

Jonah gave her a strange look, but smiled all the same. "I'll let her know. Later, River."

"Later," she murmured.

River turned and looked up at the clock on the wall. Eight in the evening- as if a system of time measurement based on solar cycles meant anything out here. Six and a half hours until her first ever dance with a boy who wasn't Simon.

She wondered if Jonah knew.

X

Affettuoso- Tenderly

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