Part two
Summary: There's always a calm before a storm.

****

Chapter 1- Dancing and drawing
Summary: The title says it all

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Everyone had someone. Simon had Kaylee, Kaylee had Simon, Wash had Zoe, Zoe had Wash, Jayne had whores and guns, Shepherd had God, Inara had her clients, Buddha, and Mal, and Mal had Inara. Who did that leave her? She had Simon, but not as much since he was with Kaylee. Who did she have? Who did she want to have?

Suddenly, she replayed dancing with Mal in her head. She found herself replaying the evening whenever she got the chance. It always made her smile. She wasn't sure how she had ended up thinking about the captain. It wasn't a logical transition……in her mind.

"What are you thinkin' on over there?" Wash inquired.

She spun around in the copilot's chair, wiggling her toes on the seat slightly.

"When do I get to pilot?" she deflected while setting her cheek on her knee.

"I'd have to teach you first."

"I know how. I learned from watching. From listening."

"One of these days I'll let you fly."

"Really?"

"I promise."

She smiled and spun around a few times.

Mal walked onto the bridge. "Wash, I need you to pick up the pace. We can't be late for the drop."

"No problem Mal. And when we run out of fuel halfway through space and run out of food after a month, I vote that you should be eaten first."

Mal heard a laugh. He knew that laugh anywhere. She was on the bridge again. She was always up there with Wash. He turned to River. She was spinning around in the chair with her legs tucked against her chest and her head resting on her knee.

"Do what you can do," he sighed before addressing her. "Hey there little one."

"Hello Captain."

"What are you up to?"

"Waltzing. Step step step. Step step step. La lala la lala…" she explained in a sing-song voice.

"You don't look like you're waltzin'."

"I am. Up here…" she pointed to her head and continued to quietly sing "la lala."

"I got captainy thing to do. I'll see you both later," Mal nodded to them and left.

"Bye Captain," she called after him with a big smile.

"Do you really know how to waltz?" Wash asked.

"I do," River replied.

"Do you think that you could teach me?"

River stopped and looked at him with a wide smile. "For her anniversary present."

"Do you think she'd like it?"

"Proper dance…she'd be impressed and she'd think it was sweet you learned for her. Better than a box of chocolate covered strawberries."

Wash grinned. "Okay. You'll start teaching me and I'll teach you how to fly. I gotta do it for my own peace of mind."

"Okay."

****

"Zoe, did you know that River's been hangin' out on the bridge?"

"I did, Sir."

"She's there every time I go up there."

"Mhm. Wash says she keeps him company."

"He don't mind it?"

"No. He likes her a lot when she's sane. I'm glad she's been up there. He's botherin' me less."

Mal sighed and left the room. It bugged him that she was always up there. Could it be that he was jealous of Wash's relationship with her? No, no. That couldn't be it. But then what exactly was it?

****

"Heya River! Whatcha doin'?" Kaylee asked as she sat beside River outside of the infirmary.

"Drawing."

"Drawin' what?"

"Portraits of the crew. Here, this is for you."

She pulled a very accurate picture of Kaylee out from her sketch pad. Kaylee took it with a smile.

"This is real shiny! Thank you!"

She hugged River and glanced at the one she was working on.

"Simon? That's real good!"

"He'll be done working in a minute or two," River informed her.

"That's okay. I haven't spent alotta time with you lately anyhow. How are you doin'?"

"I'm alright."

"I haven't seen you 'round the ship much. Have you stayed down here?"

"No. I've been on the bridge with the blonde mostly."

Kaylee laughed. "Wash I take it. What do you do up there?"

"It's a secret for the wife," she explained.

"Ah. Helpin' him out with their up comin' anniversary?"

"Yes. Don't tell."

"I won't."

Shepherd nodded to them as he passed them towards his room.

"What else have you been up to?" Kaylee asked.

Shepherd emerged looking slightly confused.

"Have either of you seen my cross? It was on the wall and now it's gone."

"Nope, sorry Shepherd…" Kaylee shrugged.

"I needed a blending stick for my drawing. My other one broke. I used your cross to make it," River held up her new blending stick and then pulled a page out of her sketch pad. "But I drew a picture of you."

Shepherd looked like he was either going to scream or cry.

"River, you don't do that. That was his and you had no right to just use it like that!" Kaylee gaped.

"Sorry. I needed wood."

She offered the picture as a peace offering. He took it without a word and went up the steps. She turned to Kaylee with a blank look on her face.

"He thinks I'm hell bound."

****

"What are you laughin' at?" Mal asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Moonbrain," Jayne snickered.

"River?"

"Yeah. She needed, er…what's it called?" Jayne asked.

"A blendin' stick to blend when she's drawin'," Zoe replied.

"Right. So she needed a blendin' stick, so she went into Shepherd's room and took the-"

They both started laughing again. Mal looked between them. "Took what?"

"She took the cross off of his wall," Zoe laughed.

"And she cut it down into a little stick for her drawin's!"

They laughed again.

"River took his cross so she could get a stick?" Mal asked.

"Yeah!" they both howled.

"You shoulda seen the look on his face when he walked in!" Jayne exclaimed.

"It was hilarious!" Zoe agreed.

Mal smiled. "Sorry I missed it."

"He is so mad at her!" Zoe added.

"And she don't even care!" Jayne chuckled.

"She apologized, but only 'cause Simon and Kaylee made her. Now they're both mad."

Zoe and Jayne started laughing again. Mal shook his head and left them alone.

****

They landed a few days later. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne went out on their job while Simon and Kaylee went into town to get the things they needed for the ship.

"Is this a good pose?" Wash asked. River paused and looked over the edge of her sketch pad. Wash was leaning back in the pilot's chair with a goofy grin.

"I draw from here," she tapped her pencil to her forehead, "not there…" then pointed to him with a very River-ish "You're an idiot" glare.

"Well sorry! I didn't know that!"

She had already finished Kaylee, Shepherd, Simon, Inara, Jayne, and Zoe's portraits. She was working on Wash's.

"When's our next lesson planned for?" he inquired while mindlessly fidgeting with his stegosaurus.

"Tonight."

"Will I be in toe tappin' shape by my anniversary?"

"Yes. You've got it down basically."

"You're doing pretty good yourself there fly girl."

She smirked and continued drawing.

"Now when it comes to waltzing and the box step, when you turn left-"

She waited for him to continue, but he didn't. She looked over the edge of her sketch pad. His lips were moving, but she couldn't hear what he was saying.

"River Tam…" a voice whispered. It was familiar, the bad kind of familiar.

"River Tam…" another voice echoed.

Her eyes searched the room for the source of the whispers. It wasn't any of the crew. The whispers got louder. They only repeated her name over and over again. She finally looked down at her sketch pad. Her drawing of Wash disappeared. The image had changed.

There was a big tree with red leaves. It was alone, secluded in the middle of a green field and rolling green hills. A swing hung from one of the stronger branches. A girl in a bright white dress sat on it moving her legs. It was the like the whispers were coming from the leaves.

"River Tam…" the voices repeated. The girl turned around. She recognized herself, only she was years younger. Two black figures entered the picture.

She saw their blue gloves. A long silver stick slid out of the one on the left's sleeve as they called her name one last time. Both Rivers screamed.

"River?" Wash asked worriedly. She leapt out of the copilot's chair with the whispers repeating over and over again in her head.

"River…come home…" they said.

She shook her head frantically and darted off of the bridge with Wash following closely behind.