Quiet Moments... Part 4: ~ DANCING IN THE DARK ~

In bed the next day, after sundown. There had been a rainstorm, starting yesterday in the evening, lasting all night and through the day. It was still coming down outside, could hear it. A muffled rata-tat-taping on the shuttle in the background. The sound had soon just sort of faded into the background for Kaylee though so she didn't much notice it no more.

"If we're stuck here, for good I mean, what do you think we'd do?" Kaylee asked, lying next to River in bed. They'd gotten ready for bed an all, but they still had a light on next to the bed and had been talking about this and that for a while.

The more she and River talked, the more they got comfortable just talking, it seemed like. Once you got her to open up, once she felt like someone really heard her and was willing to let her be who she was, broken bits and all, Kaylee figured, River really seemed to open up. Kaylee felt special that she was the person who could give that to her. An... the way River would look at her when Kaylee was the one talking, like what she was saying mattered more than anything else in the worlds. It made her feel... It was a really good, warm sort of feeling. She couldn't remember anyone paying that much attention to her before, at least not to the things she said. Her opinions and feelings about things and everything.

"We'd grave rob and start a farm, I think. It's logical, isn't it?" River asked, looking over to meet Kaylee's eyes.

"Grave rob?" Kaylee asked, a little confused. "Oh, you mean, go an... take things from the settlers an all, don't you?" She realized.

"You have farming expertise from past experience... I don't foresee any difficulties... Unless there's a drought." River qualified.

Kaylee smiled to herself. "You an me, on a farm. Wouldn't that be something?" She mused. "Certainly be me coming round full circle, now wouldn't it?"

"Circle?" River asked.

"Me, starting out on a farm, with a sister my only friend, then going up into space, having an adventure... Then here I'd be, on a farm, with you being sister number two."

River sat up. "I'm not sister number two. Don't say that." She said, sounding a little hurt.

"...Why not?" Kaylee asked. "I mean, I know we ain't really sisters or anything, but... feels like we could be, in another life or something, doesn't it?"

River was silent and Kaylee couldn't tell much of anything just looking at her back like she was. "River..." She got up and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "What's the matter?" She asked softly.

River shied away from her and came around in front of her to face her. Her eyes were all stormy and troubled. "You don't know anything important, do you?" She accused, pushing Kaylee down onto her back, looking down at her from on top of her on her hands and knees, her eyes were all... intense somehow. Kaylee couldn't look away, she just kept quiet and couldn't think of anything to say.

River just kept looking into her eyes for a few more moments and then she started to lower herself down closer. Kaylee's mind just sort of... went blank. She didn't know what was happening, or what would happen next, then... River closed her eyes and kissed her.

Just a soft, simple kiss, followed by a second just the same.

River stopped and got back up on her hands, looking down into a speechless Kaylee's eyes. "That's important." River explained softly, getting off of her and going to sit against the headboard, a pillow's distance between them. Kaylee looked over and saw River had brought her legs up and was resting her chin on them, just looking off into the darkness of the room.

"...Why'd you do that?" Kaylee asked, getting up on her knees and looking over at River.

River didn't answer.

"You... You like me... don't you." She spoke. It wasn't a question. She wondered in that moment how she hadn't seen it before. Of course River liked her like that. All those times she'd caught her watching her... She'd caught a boy looking at her like that, what else would she have thought? She felt kinda dense for not seeing before now...

River turned her head and looked at her, resting the side of her head on her knees. "I used to know how to do this better... I had a girlfriend. Her name was Ella Dannan. She took me dancing..." River confessed softly. "I wonder what become of her sometimes... I hope she found someone else to dance with..." She closed her eyes.

Kaylee just sat there watching River a moment, then she looked down at her hands. Her thoughts were still a little dazed, and she wasn't sure if what she was thinking was a good idea or not, but she figured she was going to do it anyway.

She looked back up at River. River was looking off into the darkness again, a sort of... wistful look on her face.

Kaylee got up and crawled out of bed, going to the far side of the room. River watched her curiously. Soon, there was music. A soft, instrumental song. Piano, electric guitar, some other instruments.

Kaylee walked over by the side of the bed where River was. "I like to go dancing too." She explained in a gentle way, offering River her hand.

River smiled softly to her, took her hand and let Kaylee lead her out to the middle of the floor. They stepped closer together, put their arms around one another, and danced to the music.

to be continued

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