REMEMBER – words and phrases in nonbold italics are what each man wrote and then crossed out. To read the story in its proper form, though, you should hop over to ArchiveOfOurOwn (same story title, author name is Ella_Greggs).

POSTMARKED: "Bushwacked"

Dear Dad,

Please excuse my penmanship. My hands are still shaking. Today was a bad day. We are safe, have no fear. But I being to doubt whether I can do this – help River on the run like this.There are so many things about our new life for which I am totally unprepared. It makes me ashamed, knowing how sheltered and comfortable my life up to now has been. I'm still struggling to acclimate acclimating to our new circumstances. The uncertainty is the worst. I still don't fully trust the people who are helping us, although I suppose I trust them more today than I did yesterday. So far it seems more the case that we're not getting in their way rather than that there is strong altruism involved, but honestly, I'll take what I can get on that score.

We had a brush with the Alliance today. The people I mentioned hid us, but it was much too close a call and I promise we are totally safe. But we can't come home. You will have to trust me on this, Dad. I would be handing River over to the Alliance so they can hurt her again, and you may think you can protect us, but you can't.

I wish I could tell you more about what happened to River at the Academy, but I'm still trying to puzzle it out myself. She hasn't been able to articulate what they did and I don't think it involved sexual abuse, and her behavior is very erratic. She suffers from terrible nightmares and wakes up screaming. I wish I had specialized in psychology instead of surgery, then I might have more insight, but as it is, I still can't figure out how to help her, and it frustrates me more than anything. Yes, my top priority is keeping her safe and out of Alliance hands, and, so far, I'm managing that, although barely, but I must will do more, I must will heal her. She's suffering, Dad. She hears screams where there are none. The more I see of what they did to her and the more I see of the Alliance, the more convinced I am that coming home now would be disastrous for all of us. Please trust me on this.

This new life of ours is more frightening precarious than I expected (although in honesty, I didn't really know what to expect when we fled). Today we came up against a kind of blackness I'd never have thought possible – the complete destruction of the human soul. Reavers are real. People stripped of all the trappings of civilization – reason, logic, empathy, even the simple acknowledgment of their fellow men as human beings. It was frankly horrifying. Reavers kill and mutilate their victims in the most gruesome manner. They even deliberately mutilate themselves. As a doctor, I've been trained to be dispassionate, and faced with dead bodies showing the evidence of naked barbarity I was able to keep my composure just fine. But Reavers, if they let a victim live, turn that person into one of them. They eviscerate his soul. I encountered such a person today. This fellow gouged his face and cut out his own tongue with a scalpel and murdered several Alliance officers. He's dead now, killed by the people who are protecting us, and I can't help but be grateful, even though as a doctor I know I should abhor the loss of any life. His death was in fact the reason River and I were able to slip the Alliance's grasp. It's starting to sink in that I will have to be a much stronger person in order to adapt out here. I must be strong for River, as well, since she cannot yet do it for herself.

River seems fascinated by our new surrounds and some of the people helping us are very kind to her, although others merely tolerate us both. One fellow is openly hostile, but the others keep him in check. I mustn't get discouraged. Today was indeed a bad day, but we made it through. And I got to see something magical while we were hiding from the Alliance. River smiled for the first time since I rescued her. Her very first smile in four weeks. She was looking up at the stars with such pure wonderment and joy, free of the demons that haunt her nightly dreams and the confusion that often clouds her mind. Remember how radiant she looked when she danced? That was how she looked when she smiled today. It was magical. And it gives me hope, hope that she will heal in time, and then we can come home.

So I suppose it wasn't such a bad day, after all.

Give our love to Mom.

Simon

Dear Simon,

My dear boy! I received your latest letter (the less said about the courier and his hygiene, the better), which it seems you wrote about three weeks ago. Based on the transit time, I'm guessing you must be very far out on the Rim, which by itself alarms me greatly. It wrung my heart hearing you speak of such trials and say I am powerless to aid you. I can barely comprehend that your story about Reavers is true.

Your mother and I are well. Most of our social circle are shunning us under the guise of being "otherwise engaged," but that's a small matter. We had an unpleasant adventure of our own, although nothing compared to yours, by the sound of it. I tried again contacting the Academy directly but no one there will speak to me, other than to repeat that you and your sister stole "valuable government property." The Alliance colonel I wrote about previously came to question us again (no troops this time), asking if we'd heard from you. Of course, we emphatically said no. Then I demanded again to know what you had allegedly stolen. He said it was "classified" and went away. A few days after that, police "escorted" us to the station, where some very strange men wearing blue gloves tried to ask us the same question. They said they were from the Academy, but I'm sure they weren't educators. Their presence seemed to unnerve even the police. They asked about which friends and coworkers you were close with, and if we knew anything about the rebel movement you'd gotten mixed up in. An academic institution wouldn't concern itself with a rebel movement. For better or worse, your mother and I haven't spent our lives among the Osiris elite without learning how to be imperious. We told them we wouldn't talk without our lawyer present. I called Clive van der Leer and he came to the station loaded for bear. He's not the top criminal attorney in Capital City for nothing. He threatened to sue everyone in sight for harassment, wrongful detention, and emotional distress. He really laid into them! That seems to have done the trick, because no one has bothered us since. But this harassment, these threats, they have convinced me you are totally right to keep your sister away. So I will not press you anymore to come home. I hope you can forgive me for doubting you before.

I guess I should be destroying your letters after I read them, but I can't bring myself to do that. They are the only connection I have to you and River, and I do intend one day to share them with your mother. But not until River is further on the mend and you are both in a much more stable situation than it sounds like you are in right now. In the meantime, they stay hidden, just like my dear children.

In other ways, I am trying to be careful. I fired Dante, whom we hired after River left for the Academy, and hired Victoria back. She was always very fond of you and your sister when she was our housekeeper and I tracked her down. She has two small children of her own now. I offered to pay her quite a bit more than what she was getting from her previous employer. I want a servant who is not only loyal to your mother and me, but to you children, as well. If the authorities are questioning us and talking to your friends and co-workers, they will certainly have their eyes on the household staff, too.

As to the substance of your letter, I want you to listen to me, Simon. I am proud of you for safeguarding your sister. You are a strong young man and a brilliant doctor. If anyone can cure River, it is you. Thank you for telling me about her smile under the stars. It gives me hope as well.

Do you need money? My social standing has slipped but my bank accounts are fully intact. The people who are helping you – would it make things easier if I paid them? There must be some way I can send funds safely. Or medical books? Maybe something that could help you treat River? But I don't want to do anything that will enable the authorities to track you down, so you will have to come up with a plan and tell me.

My love to you and my dearest girl. Write again, but only if you can safely do so. Do not under any circumstances compromise your whereabouts.

Dad