Title: Tales of a Would-be Hostage
Chapter: 2/??
Author: thefalloficarus at livejournal
Characters: This chapter: Kaylee, River
Spoilers/Warnings: Completely Alternate Universe. River never went to the Academy, certain characters have WAY different backgrounds.

Note: plot bunny passed on to me by lj user whitemoonflower. Sorry I've forgotten to credit you till now, and thank you so much for sharing this idea with me!
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Chapter 2: Reunion

River stood at the bow of her ship and smiled, fingering the dash lightly. It wasn't the biggest ship in the Alliances' fleet and it sure wasn't the most impressive, but it was hers. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and let it out slowly. At 22, she was now one of the alliance's youngest Captains, piloting a small 15 man crew after only 4 years of service.

She felt as though her life had been fast tracked for this very moment, to get her here. All those years of accelerated schooling, older boys looking down on her, people constantly pushing her to see how far she could go, all boiled down to this moment. She smiled again and then turned, facing the door, watching as it opened.

"Captain Tam," The Private said, saluting River as he entered. "The new mechanic you requested is aboard, and waiting to see you." He informed her.

"Excellent." River said, giving a curt nod and a brief smile. "Show her in please."

With that the officer left, and a moment later appeared again, at the door, showing Kaylee inside. Both girls waited until he shut the door behind him and then both squealed excitedly and rushed into each other's arms.

"I've missed you so much!"

"I can't believe I'm here."

"You look fantastic."

"You're so tall!"

Both girls babbled on at the same time, so excited by their reunion and the thoughts going through their heads that they weren't even catching a word the other was saying.

"I'll stop." Kaylee said laughing. "You go!"

River laughed and held her old friend at arms length, a hand on each shoulder, looking her over. "Oh Kaylee you look wonderful! I'm so glad to see you." She said, smiling radiantly.

Kaylee laughed and pulled River to her once more, hugging her tightly. "You too! And look at you! You're so tall now! And captain!" She gushed, looking over her friend again. "I just can't get over it: Captain of your own alliance ship! You're such a big important person now!"

River laughed humbly and felt herself blush slightly. "I am not. We're the equivalent of an interstellar police cruiser." She said with a wave of her hand. "But it's a start, and they let me bring in the finest mechanic in the 'verse, so it's not a bad job so far."

It was now Kaylee's turn to blush, and she tucked her hands behind her back and scuffed her foot on the ground, looking every bit the young child River remembered. "I ain't the best." Kaylee said, "But thanks for thinkin' it." She said, looking up now and around the bridge. "Gosh, she's a beauty."

River turned, smiling and nodded her aggreance. "And she's ours. From now on, you keep her flying, and I'll take her anywhere that I can. The sky is literally the limit." She turned and smiled at Kaylee, who in turn reached out and squeezed her hand.

"It's so good to see you again. I can't tell you how much I've missed those old days when you and I used to spend the entire day playing, and tinkering, and torturing your brother." Kaylee said with a laugh, which caused River to laugh in return.

"Well then, you'll be happy to know that this trip down memory lane isn't over yet." She said, walking over to the pilot's seat, leaning back on it. "Because our first stop is The Magellan, Simon's Med Cruiser out by Whitefall. We've got to drop off some supplies to them and our first sweep out is in that quadrant of space. Apparently there have been several sightings of aberrant forms, and a few colonizing ships have been lost." River said, a slight frown on her face. It wasn't that she didn't like the challenge but it was disturbing that so many were disappearing and for unknown reasons.

"We... we're seeing Simon?" Kaylee stuttered, completely missing the rest of their assignment.

River laughed and shook her head. She'd always suspected Kaylee had a crush on her brother, and by the sound of her stuttering that torch was still there after all these years. "We still have a couple of hours till we get there, why don't you go finish un-packing and settling in." She said, giving her long time friend the chance to freshen up before seeing her long time crush once more.

Kaylee smiled gratefully and with a hurried, "We'll talk some more soon," she scrambled out the door leaving River alone on the Bridge.

With a final laugh, River took her place in the Pilot's chair, double-checking their coordinates before putting her feet up, leaning back, and enjoying the moment of captaining her very own Cruiser through the black. It was the same space she'd been flying through for years, but now, suddenly with the prospect of being reunited with her two best friends once more, and having her very own ship, it seemed that now she truly was flying through a 'verse of endless possibilities.