A Voice Calling From The Dark... Part 3: ~ WHERE LOVERS GO ~

It was later on in the day now, a while after noon. They'd talked to Inara for a while and then went out and buried the rest of the bodies. Afterward, River had wanted to go for a last swim in the lake before they went. Kaylee had swam with her for a while, but then got up on shore to lay out their picnic lunch for them. Now she was just sitting on shore, arms resting on her knees, chin on her arms, watching River jump off the top of the waterfall and dive into the lake with nary a splash. Kaylee smiled a little wistfully and lay her head on its side, waiting for River to surface, which she did a few moments later closer to her, her starting to swim over to her then. Kaylee watched as her lover made her way back over to her, feeling like she was maybe losing something precious. Her and River alone out here, just them. They'd have the trip to the colony town, but after that, she'd have to share her new girlfriend with other people. Even if one of those other people was one of her best friends. Oh, she knew she and River were steady and all, felt that certain stubborn possessiveness inside her that was a sure tell of that if she'd had any doubts, but still... there was just something magic about being the only two in the world like it'd felt like they'd been these last weeks. Something she was somehow sure she'd miss once it was gone. She smiled though as River got up closer to her and Kaylee sat up on her knees, offering her hand to the woman. River took it and smiled to her, and Kaylee could see it in her eyes that she was thinking about pulling her in.

River apparently kept strong against the temptation though and let Kaylee pull her up to shore with her.

River knelt down next to her next and touched her cheek gently, kissing her. Kaylee felt spellbound and easily felt herself get lost in the simple kiss. She sighed a little blissfully when the kiss was over, looking at River with what must surely look like a lovesick gaze.

"How can you be this pretty?" Kaylee asked, running a hand through River's dripping wet hair.

"It's because I'm in love." River replied simply. "It makes me glow. Makes us both glow... brighter than anything."

Kaylee smiled a little dreamily. "That's so not fair." She told her, River's words just melting her inside. She was far too talented at doing that, Kaylee decided.

River smiled, getting up to her feet and taking one of Kaylee's hands in hers and helping her up in the process also. River turned to her and their eyes met again. "I sometimes think that maybe stars are the places where lovers go after they die, you know. So they can always be together. And so they can keep the worlds that spin around them warm. To give other people a lighted path. A way to join them. A choice, between warmth and love, or darkness and wondering alone... It doesn't make sense really, to choose the other option, but I guess a lot of people must do..."

Kaylee didn't really know what to say or do just then but to move in closer and kiss her, almost reverently. "It's a pretty thought." Kaylee said after she'd finished thoroughly kissing her girlfriend and found herself wrapped in her arms (which she didn't mind, even if it meant she got wet some). "I kinda hope you're right, too. It sounds kinda nice, living in a star, warm and at home, in love with someone... In love with you forever."

"Some people think that forever can be found in a single moment in time." River replied. "Now, for instance..." She said, kissing Kaylee again and moving even closer to her.

Kaylee's eyes fluttered shut, and somehow she felt River's words start to live a little in her skin in some way. Almost like time just stopped... almost. She couldn't hold on to the feeling of course, but she felt like she'd remember it forever. And maybe that was something of forever after all?

When the kiss ended, she rested her forehead against River's and closed her eyes again, trying to steady her heart from beating so fast, her blood from singing so much in her body. She had no real thoughts in her, but she felt things very intensely right then.

"I'm going to miss this." Kaylee finally spoke. "Just having you to myself like this..." She confessed as her thoughts began to come back to her.

"I'll miss it too... but... I'll always be yours. Everything I am is yours... I promise." River told her with simple honesty and vulnerability.

Kaylee smiled and hugged her. "I love you so much..." Kaylee said, feeling a little overwhelmed with emotion right then. Like she might cry from being so happy, from all the feelings this woman gave her that she didn't even rightly have a name for.

"I love you too." River said in a soft heartfelt voice. "You saved me." Her voice faint when she said that last thing.

Kaylee thought about that a second, then backed up out of the hug, holding both River's hands with both of hers and meeting River's eyes, asking. "I saved you? ...How'd I do that? I thought it was you who was saving me all the time." She said with a little of a smile, a little embarrassed about that actually. She'd wished before that she could do more, in fact. Pull her weight more.

River just smiled, a little enigmatically. "You just did, that's all." Was all she said, letting go of Kaylee's hands and turning to walk away over to where Kaylee had set up the picnic.

Kaylee watched after her curiously a moment. "Wo di meili zhi mi..." She spoke to herself with a very fond smile, then hurried to catch up with her girlfriend. She figured River would probably find a way tell her what she'd meant in her own time, like she usually did... and that, she found, was just fine with her.

Kaylee went over to her and they held hands going over to the picnic blanket. Kaylee let go of River's hand and sat down, watching with fascination as she dried off her hair a little and got dressed again. They'd put together a little of a feast today, with all of the berries and such they could gather from the woods, figuring it wouldn't matter because they were leaving the next day anyway. "It might be a big problem, you know. Finding food along the way." Kaylee spoke as River sat down. "I'm not sure, but I think we're at least a week's walk away from the colony town where Inara's at, maybe more." She estimated, eating a few berries. "We might have to try hunting for birds or rabbits or the like..." She concluded. She didn't like to think about maybe having to do that. She'd never liked eating animals if she could avoid it. Ever since she was small she never had, but, well, sometimes a body just didn't have that many options, did she?

River shook her head. "I'm sure we won't have to murder anyone. I think it'll be fun." She told her positively, a cute, happy smile on her lips that made Kaylee smile too, like she just couldn't help it.

"I think so to." Kaylee said, choosing to believe in what River said. After all, River hadn't been wrong so far, so why would she be now? Not that she wasn't going to make sure they were as prepared as she could make them anyway, of course. That was just sensible.

She started to eat more of her portion of the berries and the leftover stew River had made for them that morning (which still tasted really good, even cold).

Chinese translations for this chapter:

"Wo di meili zhi mi..." = "My beautiful mystery..."

(please note: I'm only getting my Chinese from Google Translate, so I can't guarantee it's accurate at all)

to be continued

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