Title: Tales of a Would-be Hostage

Chapter: 7/??

Author: thefalloficarus at livejournal

Characters: This chapter: River, Simon, Mal, Bester Kaylee

Spoilers/Warnings: Completely Alternate Universe. River never went to the Academy, certain characters have WAY different backgrounds. There's a character death in this chapter. Trust me, it's for the best, I can't write for this character worth beans.

Note: plot bunny passed on to me by lj user whitemoonflower: Thank you so much for sharing this idea with me! And as always Comments are Shiny and make me happy (and let me know people are actually reading and enjoying. Lol)

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Chapter 7: Trouble on the Horizon

"So," Bester said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "You excited to be headed home?"

"You mean am I excited to finally be released from your barely adequate medical facility so that I can get my inevitable court martial underway?" She asked, her tone deadpan, her brow quirked. "Just thrilled."

"Girl, you have no idea how glad I'll be to get you off my boat." Mal said, walking down the stairs from the catwalk above.

"You took me hostage!" River cried indignantly, though there was something else in her eyes that Mal couldn't recognize.

"Well, now I'm letting you go."

She glared at him. "The world will remember you for your kind and generous nature, I'm sure."

"He's generous now? I thought he was the bad guy?" Came a voice from behind, and they all turned to see Kaylee, Simon and Marisol striding towards them.

River smiled and turned to meet the group halfway, hugging Kaylee. "It's good to see you again."

Kaylee returned the embrace, "We seem to be saying that a lot lately." She laughed, causing River to nod.

"Good to see you alive and well mei mei." Simon said, pulling his sister to him once she was free from Kaylee's grip. They had seen each other a handful of times when he went to check on Zoe, but the separation had been hard on both of them, and River was just glad that there weren't anymore walls between her and the people she cared for most.

The happy reunion was paused though when a man came out onto the catwalk above, a worried expression on his face. "Captain, we've got a ship hailing us. Looks in bad shape." He said and River watched his expression change slightly as if willing Mal to understand something that he knew. She turned to watch the Captain and saw that there was indeed a look of concern and... fear on his brow.

"Steer us around Wash. We're only an hour outside of Jiangyin, we'll inform the local authorities and let them handle it." Mal said, moving to the stairway to join Wash.

"You can't!" Simon said stepping forward, provoking River to reach a hand out to pull him back. "That means another hour or more before someone helps them. If they're hailing it could be something serious!"

Mal sighed, turning back to the outspoken Doctor, but Wash spoke before he had the chance. "They're leaking O2..."

"I sense a but." Mal encouraged.

"But, When I tried to hail them back I got no answer. I got a bad feelin' about this." Wash finished.

Mal nodded, and looked down, thinking.

"If they're unresponsive that means they probably can't wait an hour. Captain I must insist that we help them!" Simon said nobly. "Think of what would have happened if someone hadn't helped you." He added pointedly.

Mal shook his head, and sighed. "Fine. Wash, prepare to dock." He shook his head and looked at Simon, and then Marisol. "Mari show them to a room while we assess the situation. I don't want any daring heroics gettin' anyone killed." He said, his eyes flicking on Simon.

As Marisol began to usher the three hostages towards the passenger bunks River stepped forward towards the stairs of the catwalk. "I'm coming with you." She stated.

Mal had started up the stairs and she saw him hunch for a moment, his head tilted down, and it began to shake. "Did you not just hear my comment about daring heroics?" He asked flatly, and she could hear the annoyance in his tone.

"Ah, yes, and you're planning...? To go in there with grease monkey the wonder mechanic and your oh so calm and steady under pressure nurse?" River asked harshly.

Mal turned on her then, his pallor redder and his features scrunched smaller than she'd ever seen.

"What I'm trying to say is, that if there's trouble you need someone who can fight. Obviously your second hand is laid up right now, and quite frankly if there is trouble this involves Simon, Kaylee and I as well." She said, her tone much more mild, sensing she had crossed the line by calling out his less than action worthy crew.

Mal sighed, starring at her for a long moment, then shook his head. "If you get killed ain't gonna be on anyone's head here but your own." He said before turning and walking up the rest of the stairs and disappearing into the ship.

"River, no!" Simon said, stepping away from Marisol. "If you go, at least let me go with you. This was my idea." He strode towards her closing the gap between them.

"Simon," She said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You're right, this is the right thing to do. If there are people there that need our help we have a duty to stop and help." She said softly. "You help by fixing people, and I help by making sure those I love are safe." She nodded her head as he began to shake his. "I'll be fine Simon." She placed a hand on either side of his face. "If I were back on my ship right now I'd be doing the same things and we wouldn't be having this conversation." She said firmly.

Simon closed his eyes leaning his head ever so slightly into her hand. "If there's trouble, you stay behind the others. If there's fighting, anything, drop to the floor or run away. It's okay to leave them to die."

River laughed and kissed her brother on the cheek. "You stay here with Kaylee, I'll be back before you know it and we can get off this piece of le se and back to our real life." And even as she said it she felt a pang of something. 'Maybe it's guilt over calling the ship garbage, me being a Captain and all? It's actually a fine ship: it is simply our situation that seems to be le se.' She thought, trying to chase the strange feeling away.

Simon smiled at his sister and hugged her once more. "Be safe Mei mei." He turned then and headed back to Kaylee who gave River an encouraging smile, but stood stiffly, awkward in her discomfort. She noticed when Simon got back to Kaylee that their fingers touched briefly, a momentary caress of fingers, a gentle intertwining dance, in and away, and only then did she begin to wonder what Simon and Kaylee had been doing to occupy themselves alone together for the past seven days. Part of her had always felt she would be utterly jealous of any other woman who managed to snare her brother's heart, but she found herself surprisingly reassured. She knew and loved Kaylee like a sister, and somehow she knew that if the two did stumble into each other's arms than she would find herself with more love and friendship, rather than the less that she'd always feared. She watched as Marisol led them down the hallway and then turned, following the path Mal had taken.

When she'd reached the top of the stairs she had to take a moment to orient herself. She could see down into the cockpit where the Red headed pilot Wash was at the controls and she moved towards him, stopping when she heard Mal curse through an open hatch. She peered into the open doorway and the stairs that led down into the room he was in and then looked around her as if someone might be watching her do something wrong. No one was paying her any mind, and she steadied herself and stepped onto the ladder, sinking herself down into the room below.

Mal looked up, startled like a deer caught in headlights. "What in the sphincter of hell are you doin' down here?" He asked, his tone holding more anger than he'd intended.

River paused a moment on the ladder and then defiantly let go, letting herself drop the remaining few rungs and land squarely on the floor of what appeared to be Mal's bunk. "I need a gun."

Mal gapped at her. "You need a gun?"

"Oh good the echo game again. I'd missed it." She said rolling her eyes and stepping further into his room.

"Well... you.. can't have one."

River allowed her eyes to move from Mal to the surrounding room, taking in the sparse decor. If she hadn't seen a small pile of clothes that were most certainly his there would be no other way to tell that he lived here.

"I said git!" Mal said with a wave of his hand, drawing River's attention back to him.

"You said no such thing." She turned, walking over to his bed, sitting down. "Captain, you're being ridiculous. I'm not going to shoot you or your crew, but I will not allow someone to shoot me. I need a gun if I'm to accompany you and your crew to the marooned vessel."

"Well, I guess you ain't accomp'nyin' us." He looked at her defiantly.

"We've gone over this captain. You have no one else. I am your option, and I am requesting permission to arm myself, and that you provide me with a gun so that I am more than simple canon fodder should the situation turn dire."

Mal grit his teeth. "Why do you do that?"

"What?" River asked, truly surprised by the question.

"When you're trying to talk all calm and reasonable to me, you use more words. Like you might confuse what you want out of me."

River averted her eyes and blushed, but unwilling to be beat, turned back to him. "Why do you call me albatross?"

"Well... I..." Mal said stunned for a moment. "How do you know I called you that?"

"I have an extraordinary sense of hearing." She said simply.

"Through glass?"

"May I have a gun please?"

"You're dodging my questions." Mal said unmoving.

"And you're trying to stall a decision you've already made."

There was a moment of silence between the two, the air filled with a tension so thick that you could feel it, like a static electricity. River almost wanted to reach out and touch it, to run her fingers through it, like water.

"Ask Wash to show you to Jayne's room. You can get 1 gun, and I'll make sure with him that it was only one." He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Anyone but the biggest one." 'That was Vera, and that one was Jayne's. No one would have her now that Jayne couldn't.' Mal finished in his head.

River looked at him for a moment, as if she sensed what he was thinking and saw the sorrow and guilt that ate at his soul, and he glowered, hating that pity that flashed in her eyes. "Now git." He said, turning his back on her, hearing her get up and walk to the ladder.

"And Albatross." He said, using her nickname aloud now, addressing her. "I'm trusting you."

"I know Mal." She said before climbing up and out of his room.