They had reached a backwoods planet after a couple of days. A job awaited them and the Captain excitedly awaited the departure of Rose Tyler. He had it all planned. They'd take her to town and leave her with someone who didn't look too scary or dirty, and then his crew would be protected from whatever horrible secret Rose was hiding. He refused to believe that maybe, just maybe, this woman wasn't dangerous. Perhaps it seemed like overkill or insanity, but the Captain had certain reasons…and they were more than understandable.

Rose, who was up half the night reading River's encyclopedia about this reality, had just woken. She woke to the sounds of shouting voices in Chinese, several cheers, and definitely some physical violence. Well, she liked a good dose of trouble first thing in the morning.

Bolting, she follow the sound to the cargo bay. Jayne was on the steps and cheering like he was a football match, Zoe had her stoic smirk, Kaylee watched in terror, and Simon was—for some reason—in his wife's arms with a bruise on his cheek.

River and Mal were circling one another like lions ready to strike. Given the Captain's bloody nose, the lioness had already struck.

"River, I am this close to kicking you off my ship," Mal growled. "You do not mutiny against the captain of a vessel, and you don't hit him in the face!"

"Hit my brother!"

"That was an accident! I didn't know he was behind me. An innocent accident. He'll be fine. It was just an elbow to the face. You gave me a full out fist."

"Will give you more."

"I'm not fighting you, River," Mal huffed. "You do what you're told on my boat."

"Yer just scared that she'll whoop you so hard you'll forget your name," Jayne had a good laugh.

"She's a girl!" he shouted back.

Big mistake. River kicked him in the gut and sent him into a few cargo crates. Cursing, he pulled himself up and balled his fists. He didn't want to do this. No. But, Jayne had aggravated him and River wasn't going to back down. He didn't know why she attacked him. It came out of nowhere.

The fact that she had warned him all week about ramifications was conveniently forgotten, on his part.

Since this was obviously between crew members, Rose hadn't made herself known. She simply watched from afar. River was something else. She had never seen someone fight with so much grace, and against someone three times their size at that. She was beating the Captain fairly badly when Zoe finally stepped in.

"All right, enough. Round is over. I'm sorry, sir. She got you good."

His hand wiped blood from his mouth. "I won't forget this, River. You're in big trouble."

"She warned you," Kaylee reminded him. "She said she'd do it if you tried to get rid of Rose. It's on you, Cap'in."

Rose couldn't believe that the fight was about her. It gave a pang of guilt to see that Malcolm Reynolds was beat something awful, but it made her feel all sorts of warm and fuzzy. River knew that Rose was there, but she needed to finish her business.

"She stays, Captain."

"Little albatross, you know that you're my crew, my family—"

"She. Stays. Captain."

"And what if this is like last time?"

Oddly, everyone in the room grew still. It was a moment of a silence as if someone had died, so Rose thought that maybe someone did die. Maybe that was why the Captain was so resistant. It was a good guess on Rose's part, but it was not correct.

River's face darkened as she stepped to him. "Final time I'm saying this, Captain. Rose stays here."

Mal ultimately relented. "Fine. If this whole boat wants to turn against me and trust some crazy stranger, don't yell at me when things go pear-shaped."

"Crazy stranger?" Rose stepped into the open.

Mal glared. "See this face? Your fault."

"I didn't give birth to you. That ugly is on your mum."

Jayne made a low sound and cackled. "Man, I like that girl! Especially if'n I get to buy her a drink."

"That'll never happen," Zoe deadpanned as the others giggled.

"Why not? I think that I got a chance."

"Not in your wildest dreams, mate," Rose had to laugh.

"Just leave for the gorram job," Mal crankily pushed by Kaylee and Simon, which made Simon wince at the memory of his face connecting with Mal's elbow.

Rose went to River with a smile, but it faded when she saw a large bruise on River's cheek. Her fingers tenderly probed the swelling area. "River…"

"Fine. Nothing in comparison to previous ailments."

"Well, this bruise still doesn't look good. Let's get some ice on that."

They linked hands and grabbed a cool compress from the infirmary. River held it to her face and sat across from Rose at the couch. Rose couldn't help smiling at her new friend. That was some fight and it was just to keep her onboard.

"Thanks for that," Rose softly spoke.

River blinked. "No gratitude is necessary for an essential action."

"You didn't haveto do the…essential action. That's why I thanked you."

"River thinks that she did."

"Rose still appreciates it."

There was a grin between them. River enjoyed the fact that Rose keep up with her and played along without skipping a beat. Rose enjoyed that just as much as River.

Soon, the cold pack was burning River's hand. She lowered it and Rose glanced at her pink palm. The bruise was still setting, so Rose picked up the pack and leaned forward. She held it to River's cheek and they both noticed how close their faces were. Yet, they didn't move.

"Thank you," River muttered.

Rose smirked. "No thanks are needed for something that has to be done."

"Didn't mean for the icepack."

"No?"

"No."

Rose waited for further explanation, but River did not give it. The reader's fingers simply covered Rose's hand and the time traveler smirked. The contact lingered until it was time for Rose's hand to turn red. River took the compress back and Rose thought of something that had been said.

"Why'd he call you little albatross?"

"Endearing nickname," River smirked. "Favorite one. Not too fond of the others. Moonbrain. Crazy killer girl. Witch. Almost got burned at the stake once. Long story."

"I'll bet. I'm glad you weren't. I'd go mad if you weren't on this ship."

River had the tiniest blush in her cheeks. "You're one with many names. Bad Wolf. Defender of the Earth. Valiant Child. All pink and yellow. Blondie."

"I hate that. I really hate that. I've been called Rosie before. Hated it too. Anything with an ee sound to it. It'd be like if I called you Rivy."

"I like it."

"Yeah?"

"But only you get to call me that."

She grinned at the smile on River's face. Then, River's head tilted to the side with a worrisome expression. "River?"

"You need to go."

"Go where?"

"To help them. The crew."

"Help the crew on their job?"

"Yes."

"But, I don't know anything about this world. And, they left a while ago."

"In trouble. Need saving. By you."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"You're the Bad Wolf. You'll figure something out."