Chapter 17

The days passed quickly, en route to Ariel. The Doctor spent long hours discussing strategy with Mal and Zoe—and, surprisingly, Shepherd Book—as Rose went over Torchwood's basic psychic training with the others. As the crew got better at shielding their thoughts, the Doctor helped River build mental walls to protect herself from her memories.

Rose woke slowly from a rare sleep, wrapped in the Doctor's arms. As much as he might go on about being fully recovered, he was still sleeping far more than normal, and she'd found he seemed to sleep better with her there. She didn't really mind—she could read in bed as well as anywhere else, and it still wasn't easy to let him out of her sight. The soft noise that had woken her sounded again, and she turned her head to find River sitting on her desk, watching them curiously. "River? What is it, sweetheart?"

"I slept." Rose raised an eyebrow curiously and River leaned forward, speaking as if to a particularly dense child. "I slept without the screams."

A sleepy voice interrupted them, and Rose looked up to see the Doctor watching River. "How long had it been?"

"Since home." River got off the desk and twirled a little, a slow smile breaking over her face. "I didn't even use Simon's needle."

She spun again and left the room, and Rose smiled and tucked her face back into the Doctor's chest. "Looks like you've got a fan."

He made a discontented noise in his throat, tucking his chin against her hair. "Only the one?"

She grinned against his skin. "I know you too well for that." She yelped and laughed when he pinched her side.

They dressed and left, shutting the door quietly behind them—most of the crew wasn't up yet, and Shepherd Book was a bit of a light sleeper. The lights were on in the galley, and as Rose entered it she surprised Simon, who was sitting at the table, alone.

"Oh, sorry to disturb you—"

He flushed and waved his hand at her. "No, don't apologize. I'll be leaving, don't worry."

The Doctor was watching him carefully. "There's no need to leave."

The young medic's jaw tightened, and he got up to go. Rose frowned as she set the kettle on. "Simon? You all right?"

"Fine. Perfectly all right. Why wouldn't I be?"

The Doctor sat next to him and leaned forward, eyes intent on Simon's face. "Why don't you tell us?"

Simon stiffened before slumping back into his chair again, all the anger washed out of him. "Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to help her?" He looked between them and swallowed. "It's been years. Nothing I did ever seemed to be enough, no matter how hard I tried—and then you two come along, and in the space of a month, River's stopped having nightmares. She slept the whole night through last night." He dropped his head into his hands, his voice muffled. "I'm a doctor. I'm supposed to be able to heal people, but I couldn't even help my own sister."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Simon, you did help her. If you hadn't freed her from the Academy, she'd still be in there, and none of this would be happening. When you got River out of there, Simon, you not only freed your sister, you freed this entire star system."

Rose set a cup of tea in front of each of them and sat down with her own. "Of course, that's assuming this works."

The Doctor sipped his tea and raised a teasing eyebrow at her. "Rose Tyler, when have my plans not worked?"

She pretended to consider, tapping a finger against her lower lip thoughtfully. "D'you want it alphabetically or numerically?" Simon had paled noticeably, and Rose winced. "'M kidding, Simon. The Doctor always manages, somehow."

"And the times I don't, Rose does." He smiled at Simon. "Really, you've got nothing to worry about."

Mal walked in, his face grim. "Don't be so sure, Doctor. Thanks to the wangbadan Alliance and their alert, gettin' to Ariel won't be half as easy as it was s'posed to be. We're runnin' low on fuel, an' with that damned alert goin' through every part of the Cortex, it ain't likely that we'll be able to find a reputable place to fill up." He sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. "Now I've got an old pal along the way who might be able to help us out, but I'd rather not cause her too much trouble. It'll be a day or two 'till we reach Persephone, and it shouldn't be too hard to fly the shuttle into town to negotiate for some fuel." His jaw tightened. "'Course, we'll have to be mighty careful where we show our faces—I know a few too many people on Persephone, and that bounty'll be mighty interestin' to more than one of 'em."

He glanced up at the three of them and cleared his throat. "Now, you might not like this, but I've got to ask y'all to stay on board—and that means your sister, too, Simon. It's too much of a risk for you out there."

The Doctor sat up and frowned, one of his eyebrows raised high. "If I'm not mistaken, you're not exactly safe out there, yourself. After all, that alert applies to all of us."

"Just talkin' to Laura's dangerous enough, Doctor. I ain't about to fill her shop up with a bunch of criminals." Mal grinned crookedly. "Just one or two. Zoe an' I'll head out once we get close." He poured himself a cup of tea and stared down into it before looking up again. "You may be used to stickin' your nose into trouble, Doctor, but I've got to ask you to lay low."

The Doctor's mouth pursed shut. Rose bit her lip and laid her hand on his arm. "It's not forever, Doctor. Just until we get the TARDIS back. Please?"

After a moment, he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, all right. Blimey, this'll be new." He glanced at Rose, and his mouth quirked up. "This is your fault, you know."

She blinked at him, caught in the middle of a swallow. "What is?"

"Me, being cautious. My earlier incarnations would be so ashamed of me."

Rose snickered. "Yeah, well, sometimes I have to wonder how you made it to a thousand."

Simon choked on his tea, and Mal's jaw dropped. "What?"

The Doctor winced a little and tugged on his earlobe. "Wellllll… let's just say I've been around for a while."

Kaylee wandered into the room, her hair in two loose braids. She yawned and pulled out a block of protein, shaving off a piece for herself before slumping at the table. She blinked blearily around at the rest of them before smiling at Simon. "Mornin'."

He smiled back at her, flushing slightly. "Good morning, Kaylee. Sleep well?"

"Well's I can, when Serenity's in trouble. We gonna get some help for her, Cap'n?"

"That we will, mei mei." Mal smiled briefly at Kaylee before shaking his head at the Doctor and leaving, and she cocked her head curiously.

"What's with the Captain?"

The Doctor shrugged and sipped his tea. "Just not a morning person, apparently." He smiled at her. "You said Serenity's in trouble? What's wrong?"

"Well, we're runnin' low on fuel, of course, but it's more than that—she's been feelin' off for a while, now. Like she's got indigestion, or somethin'."

"I could take a look, if you want. I'm a bit of a dab hand with engines, if I do say so myself."

Kaylee bit her lip, considering, and Rose smiled at her. "He really is, Kaylee. I've seen him fix a stalled engine with nothin' more than a paper clip and a screwdriver."

"Well, I s'pose I can show her to you. It's nothin' real big, just a bit of a grinding every time the atmospheric thermometer engages—" they left the room, the Doctor listening intently, and Simon sighed and rubbed a hand across his face.

"Of course he is."

Rose snorted, and he looked up with a start. She grinned. "Yup, still here. About them—you've got nothin' to worry about, Simon. For one thing?" She raised her left hand and wiggled her ring finger at him, the stones a deep orange. "An' for another—as if Kaylee's got eyes for anyone but you."

He shifted uncomfortably. "Well, there was this one guy…"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Whoever he was, I guarantee that it was just 'cause she was tired of waitin' on you."

He crossed his arms. "She doesn't have to wait for me to make a move."

"Yeah, she does." He raised an eyebrow skeptically, and Rose leaned forward. "Simon, she won't ever make the first move. No matter how head over heels for you she is, she'll never push—she's Kaylee, after all. She's tryin' to give you space."

He frowned slightly. "Why?"

"Aren't you supposed to be brilliant, or somethin'?" She sighed and took another sip of tea. "You've been takin' care of River, of course. Anyone with eyes can see how much your sister means to you, an' she doesn't want to get in the way of that. After all, she cares about River, too. Just think about this, Simon—" She got up and set her mug in the sink, turning to watch him. "You're more than River's brother."

Simon stiffened. "I've got to take care of River. We're all each other has left."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "You really think that? From what I've seen, this isn't just a crew, here on Serenity. This is a family. I know the Captain would rather get shot than let any of you be hurt." She paused, watching him carefully. "Not to mention, you said it yourself. River's gettin' better. D'you really think your sister wants you to keep your whole life on hold for her?" He started to speak and stopped, blinking a little.

River waltzed in, her loose tunic fluttering behind her. She grabbed a piece of protein and smacked Simon lightly on the back of the head. He jumped a little and she grinned mischievously at him, mouth half-full. "Go ask her out, dummy. I won't be mad unless you don't."

Rose giggled and left. She had a feeling she'd enjoy the memory of Simon's flabbergasted expression for a long, long time.

(wangbadan- sons of bitches)

(mei mei- little sister)