Chapter 3- Hang in there
Summary: She just has to hold on…

XxXxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxXxX

"River…River…hey fly girl…wake up…"

River opened her eyes. Wash was staring at her with his goofy grin.

"Hi. Some accommodations you've got here. I think that the rooms here could compete with that five star resort we stayed at."

She stared at him blankly. "Blonde?"

"Yup."

"Is it really you?"

"No. Yes. No. Sorta. I'm me, but I'm you."

"So I'm hallucinating…"

"Yeah. Sorry. I'm your subconscious here to keep you company."

"I thought that my subconscious was my younger self."

"Yeah, she's busy. She's off trying to tell Mal where you are. He's a sharp one. He'll figure it out."

"Why am I seeing you? Why am I talking to you? I'm talking to myself."

"Dormant self. I'm here because one, you needed some humor to hold you together while you wait for your knight in shiny shinning armor and because two, if you were seeing Mal or Simon you'd get too sad. I'm here to make you smile and to help you with your own mind."

"Miranda."

"Exactly."

"They made Reavers."

"They did. You have other stuff locked away up there too."

"I do?"

"They're on their way back."

"I don't want to go back."

"I know you don't. Just hang in there. They'll come for you."

The door opened. She looked at Wash, who was really her, he smiled at her.

"I can't go anywhere. I'm your mind. I'll always be here. Well, until the real me is back with you tangoing."

****

Mal carried the pictures back up to the table. He spread them all out and looked at each one. He was up half the night trying to figure it out.

"River is a genius. I'm not even in the top fifty ruttin' percent…" he muttered to himself. "Pattern, she likes patterns. Every picture has the same things…"

"Hey Mal, what are you doing?" Wash asked him.

"The answer to where she's at is in these pictures. I just can't figure it out."

Wash stood beside him and looked over them all.

"They're good."

"They are," Mal agreed with a sigh. "There's the same three things in every picture. There's a girl on a swing, two men with blue hands, and an autumn tree."

"Yeah. The trees are really good. I love red fall trees. They're so much better than the yellow ones."

Mal looked at him. "What did you say?"

"The trees are really good."

"After that."

"They're so much better than the yellow ones?"

"No before that."

"I love red fall trees?"

"Red fall…" Mal repeated. "Red Falls. That's it! Wash, you're a genius!"

He took off for the bridge. Wash shrugged and followed him. Mal started tapping away on the screen.

"I knew it was near here. Red Falls, that's where she is! Take off and get us there as fast as possible," he got up and grabbed the comm. "Everyone to the kitchen."

He waited as the crew slowly trickled in.

"I know where she is. She's in Red Falls."

"Red Falls?" Simon asked. "I've never heard of it."

"It's a town on Red Rock. The silt there turns all of the water red. In Red Falls there's a big hospital crawlin' with Feds. I just looked it up and it's the perfect place to keep her."

"How'd you figure this out?" Zoe inquired.

"Wash actually gave me the idea. Her drawin's all have red fall trees. When I was with her, she kept talkin' 'bout red things. It fits."

"It's a long shot," Jayne grunted.

"It's also the only lead we have," Shepherd replied.

"I'll look at the schematics and see what plan I can come up with," Simon said on his way out.

Mal nodded and started walking towards the bridge.

"We're on the way, sweetheart…"

****

"She's shutting us out again," the assistant complained as he watched the readings.

"They say that she'll break soon. We just have to keep pushing."

"I don't think that it's safe to put the needles in as far as we are-"

"It's fine, just keep going."

"But-"

"Fine, then I'll do it."

The doctor stormed over to the subject and pushed the assistant out of the way.

"Hang in there, River," Wash said quietly in her ear. "This one is going to hurt."

She braced herself and the doctor rammed the needle in further.

"We can't let this get out," the older man in the suit barked.

"What do you suggest?" one of the younger men following him down the hallway asked.

"Everything we've worked for will be in ruins if the public discovers what happened on Miranda. It could give the Independents the fuel they need to win this war. If they get enough public support…" the older man shook his head and pushed the door open to his office furiously.

He sat down behind the desk and pointed to the door. The other man shut it behind them.

"What do you need us to do?" one of the men asked.

"Wipe the records clean. Miranda is now a black rock. No one can know. From this moment on, Miranda never existed. It cannot leave this room."

The two men nodded and exited his office.

"Do you think that we should really wipe the records clean?" one of them asked.

"It's our orders."

"It doesn't seem right. The 'verse should know about what happened!"

"Don't think too much on that. I'll work on rewriting the history of the planet to make it seem uninhabitable. You have to wipe the files clean."

They went their separate ways. Her mind followed the man to his office. He sat down behind his desk and started working on the computer. She watched as he copied all of the files and hid them in a secret place in the mainframe. An alarm sounded and the Feds kicked open his door with the older man from before right behind them.

"You copied top secret files," one of the Feds stated. "That's a federal offense."

"I had to. The 'verse has to know about what happened on Miranda."

"Shoot him! That's an order!" the older man roared

The Feds shot him in between the eyes. Blood dripped across the mahogany desk, drifting towards a picture of a young boy with the name, "Billy" on the wood frame.

River's eyes flew open. "The 'verse has to know," Wash whispered. She nodded in agreement.

****

"We're setting down," Wash announced over the comm.

"Have you had a chance to look over the hospital plans?" Mal asked Simon.

"Yes. There are six floors. I believe that she's on the first."

"What makes you say that?"

"There is a large restricted area that would be perfect to hide someone like River in. I believe that that's our best bet."

"Okay. We'll try to stay under the radar as long as possible, but if violence does ensue I want you to stay back."

"I know how to shoot, Captain."

"Sure you do."

"Why do I feel like you're patronizing me?" Simon frowned.

"'Cause I am."

Zoe walked in with her gun ready. "We've landed."

"Showtime, doc."

They piled into Shuttle 2 and took off for the hospital. Inara and Kaylee stayed with the ship.

"That's the plan," Mal recapped for everyone.

"Alright let's go," Shepherd sighed.

"Puttin' my gorram life on the ruttin' like for a babblin' crazy girl…" Jayne grumbled.

"Jayne, we're in a movin' vehicle—one that I will not hesitate to push you out of—so I'd watch it…" Mal snapped. "If anyone runs into those men in blue gloves, shoot 'em in the head. I have no notion of lettin' them live to see another day. Dong ma?"

Everyone nodded. He loaded his gun with a sigh.

We're on our way, sweetheart. Hang in there…

****

"River. River? RIVER!" Wash's voice shouted. She opened her eyes and looked at her hallucination standing beside the chair. "You gotta fight now, fly girl. Your dashing Browncoat in suspenders is here to save you."

(Dong ma- do you understand)