She sat curled up against the Shepherd and listened to words she knew should make her feel better but there was this big empty hole in her chest that just seemed to get bigger. Inara, Wash, Simon… they had all meant so much… no more smiles, no more laughter. Was it going to stop or would everyone die? Did she want to be the last one on Serenity? Could she stand it?

She shuddered and enjoyed the momentary comfort of the Shepherd tightening his hug as he spoke. She did her best to block out the unpleasant dark thoughts and closed her eyes so she could focus on what Shepherd Book was saying.

She looked around and felt a giddy joy well up and explode in delighted laughter. She was mouse-sized and standing on a table full of fancy dinnerware and food. Giant turkeys, massive cakes, mounds of potatoes, overflowing gravy dishes… she felt like Alice in Wonderland, shrunk down and dropped into heaven. She ran from plate to plate, pulling handfuls of food loose here and there. The turkey was juicy, the gravy perfect with a crumb of dinner roll, the cake… oh, the cake!

The chocolate rapture was interrupted by the sighting of the one thing she loved above all else and she sprinted across the giant table to climb a mountain of grapes so she could claim her prize - the biggest, juiciest strawberry she had ever seen.

She was almost half through the enormous, delicious fruit when a voice boomed out over the table. "Hell of a spread… yet nothing looks good."

With a gasp she looked around and saw a horrific man with twisted, scarred flesh and a cruel smirk. His eyes landed on her and he smiled. "Ahh, now that's what I like. A delicious morsel that screams."

She froze for just a moment as the situation became apparent, then she ran. She ran as fast as she could away from the dream Reaver and couldn't quite hold back a horrified scream as he pinched her hair between his thumb and forefinger, lifting her away from the table with gut-wrenching speed.

His laughter was deafening as he dangled her high over the table, the pain of being held up only by her hair was agonizing and she barely registered his words as he spoke again. "It's been a long time since I had a good meal and you look so berry tasty…"

She shrieked as she suddenly dropped into a huge, open mouth.