50) Got Me Ten Feet Off The Ground

"Woman, what in the hell," Riddick growled as River stepped off the ramp and moved towards the men who'd chased them all the way from the bank. They were damn determined to have followed the mule all this way. The ship was taking off, he could feel it and if he could then he knew damn well that River was aware.

He could see her, clear as day, slapping another clip into one gun while firing with the other, a neat trick he doubted many could manage. The ramp to the cargo bay rose slowly and he cursed again, "Yī zhī méi yǒu mǔ qīn de shān yáng de ér zi."

Nothing for it, he wasn't leaving her there alone, and from the amount of blood he could smell behind him, Mal was in no shape to help. "Wèi le cào yuán gù," He growled and hurled himself forward.

He landed with a roll to his feet not far from River and gave her a good glare as he aimed at the idiots still shooting at them. He did not like the two of them not being on the boat when it left the ground. Strongly did not like. "Tell me what the point of all this is," He wanted to know.

"Vigilantes," She replied calmly. He'd think she didn't care but he could hear the thud of her heartbeat under the gunfire, and it was definitely going a bit faster than usual, though not by too much. "Among them, a gang that wished to rob the bank themselves."

"Ō, zhè zhēn shì ge kuàilè de jìnzhǎn," He shook his head. They'd lucked out, nobody was doing more than firing over the rocks and trees they were hiding behind. It could have been worse; they could have been at the docks where other idiots would call the law down on them. And so far, nobody had gotten the bright idea of flanking them. But sooner or later they'd start aiming. Body armor or not, getting shot was not enjoyable. And getting shot somewhere the armor didn't cover would be downright dangerous.

"Moving," River nodded and kept firing as they headed for the trees.

A boost upwards for her and a leap for him and they were up in the branches, breathing softly and watching as Serenity headed north. "Well, that's a little gǎo zále," He muttered quietly.

"Wind blows northerly I go north," River murmured. When he glanced at her she half smiled, "Prearranged. In case of difficulties, separation, go north to the nearest settlement to meet with the rest of the crew."

"So…we're walking north," He wasn't looking forward to a hike through the woods with a competing crew, and their accompanying vigilante townsfolk, trailing them and shooting the entire time. Although… he looked around the trees in which they'd hidden. "Nothin' says we gotta walk on the ground."

Tiān shā de, it was handy her reading his thoughts. She grinned and looked at the branches on which they crouched and nodded towards the next tree over. This wasn't a well pruned forest by any means, branches from one tree tangled with limbs from others. They'd been fortunate to find even a smallish clearing where Serenity could land. To the well-trained eye the path wouldn't be difficult to find. They'd have to be quiet. At least that wasn't a problem for either of them.

He could hear their pursuers milling around on the ground entering the clearing and trying to figure out where he and River had gone.

"Time to practice his silent steps," River murmured. "Shàngbān ba."

Well…it wasn't like she was wrong.

They got a couple of klicks northward before the sun set completely and Riddick had to take the lead. River's eyes were good, but they weren't up to the standard of a shine job.

What he hadn't realized, and what really came in handy, was River reading his thoughts of where to place his feet and on which branches to step. So, she was still able to keep up with him with a fair amount of ease.

At some point though they needed to rest. They'd both been awake and working since very early in the morning. At least they'd gotten far ahead enough ahead of their pursuers that he thought they'd be able to rest at least a few hours without endangering themselves.

"Head up into the higher branches, strap ourselves to the trunk with the gun belts, and try to sleep for a few hours at least?" He looked at River to see her nodding.

"Sun will be up in five hours," She calculated. "Sleep until then, get to the plains. Settlement with a spaceport only a few miles away."

"All right," He found a wide, sturdy branch and straddled it, patting the bark in front of him for her to set. He'd rest his back against the tree trunk and River could lean against him. Thankfully the trunk was narrow enough that they could make a reasonably effective safety harness with the gun belts buckled together.

His greater concern, not that trying to stay in a tree while they slept was in anyway minor, was how the strain and stress of their situation would wear on River. It was easy to look at her and think she was delicate, at least for most people. He doubted he'd ever be able to forget just how gloriously deadly she could be. But they all had limits. Riddick just wasn't quite sure where hers were. For all he knew she could do this for days on end. Or she might need him to carry her tomorrow. Well he'd never know unless he asked.

"You going to be all right," He asked finally.

River did him the courtesy of not pretending she didn't know what he meant. "Likely will need rest when we return to Serenity," She said quietly. "But there is no danger of collapse yet."

It occurred to him that the situation could be worse. He'd fantasized about sleeping with her, just sleeping, although the context was generally after sex. But wrapping his arms around her and breathing in her scent didn't exactly qualify as a hardship either. Her soft giggle preceded a brush of her lips over his jaw. "Yeah, I know, ain't the most romantic situation," He chuckled.

"Hasn't had much romance in his life," She had a smile in her voice. "She enjoys his thought processes."

That was a first. He'd been accused of being a fairly twisted individual and he didn't exactly disagree. But for a woman who had to hear everyone's thoughts, he guessed liking the way his mind worked was similar to other women liking someone's sense of humor.

"Like that too," River's hands slid up and down his forearms in a sweetly innocent caress. "Like that he is pragmatic. But not so much so that he disregards the well-being of others around him."

"I like the way you move," Riddick murmured. She had to talk so he'd know what she was thinking. Didn't seem fair to just think stuff at her and not speak, like a cop out somehow. "Like your scent and your laugh. Your sense of humor. How deadly and graceful you are. Your smarts are pretty damn sexy too."

"Likes that he is also strong and deadly," She pressed her cheek to his chest. "Like your looks too. And how well you fly. Enjoy your intelligence. Even hidden, very sexy."

"I like your looks too," He smiled down at her. "Even before I got some of my colors back."

"Like how you touch me," River admitted, her voice shy. "You see me. Not just parts. One thing."

"Seems like that's part of being with someone," He didn't have much experience admittedly. But he had some idea that when you were with someone, or wanted to be with them, it meant you took the good with the bad. Otherwise, it was just convenience. Nothing important.

He'd jumped off of Serenity to go after her without a second thought. And he'd have done it for Mal or Kaylee or any of the rest of the crew, though he'd probably not wrap his arms around them like he did River. But he might've taken a bit of time to figure other options. River, he just leapt. No way was he leaving her alone to fight nearly a dozen well-armed hún dàn. Even if she could handle herself.

It wasn't a matter of River being able to deal with the situation without his help. Of course, she could. She didn't need his help or anyone else's. It wasn't about that.

It was about what he could live with. That conscience Carolyn had kicked into gear. It hadn't let him leave Jack, Abu and Carolyn to die. Hadn't let him ignore Carolyn's crisis and nightmares. Hadn't let him beat the hell out of Jack for the stunt she'd pulled on him. Or go around scaring Kaylee just because it'd be funny. (And yeah, part of him still thought it was funny as hell to make people jump.)

And he damn well couldn't live with staying safe aboard the ship while the woman he wanted (cared about, fantasized about, sparred and danced with) fought men who wanted to kill and/or rob Serenity of what they'd stolen fair and square. (Odd thought that but life on Serenity could be odd.) He'd changed enough that he couldn't (didn't want to) have her fight without him.

It just didn't seem right to him.

"Wouldn't be able to let him fight alone either," River murmured.

"A plan is one thing," Riddick didn't want her to think he didn't trust her to hold up her part of any job. "Something like this…that's another."

She nodded against him, "Plans, plots, we all do our share, take our places and play our roles. Depend upon each other to do so."

"Exactly," He nodded, indulged himself with a kiss to the crown of her head. "Let's get some rest. Dawn'll come all too soon."

"Always does," She agreed.

The hike turned into a run halfway to the settlement, when River inhaled harshly. "We must run. Waves sent, Serenity spotted and identified. Four hours by road."

"If we run, how long," Riddick could keep a fast pace and had in harsher conditions than a prairie in early morning.

"Two and a half," She glanced at him. "Mal is confined to bed and will be for at least four days."

"So Carolyn and I will be the only pilots for at least a day and a half," He figured River would need at least eight hours of actual sleep and a couple of good meals before she got all of her equilibrium back.

"Sadly, his estimations are accurate," She agreed. "Set the pace, she will keep up."

He took her at her word, and they made the town where Serenity had docked in just under two and a half hours.

Riddick didn't bother to stop in the infirmary, just ran up to the bridge as River headed for the engine room. A count of the heartbeats on board, almost instinctive he listened for them so often, told him all of the crew was still on board. It would take more than a few minutes to get Serenity off the ground. Carolyn jumped half a mile as he charged onto the bridge, just as quiet but twice as fast as his usual pace.

"We gotta go Carolyn," He ran through the minimal amount of checks required to take off and heard the engines starting.

In five minutes, the ship was set to go, and they'd left dirt behind in under ten. When he saw stars instead of clouds Riddick let himself relax finally.

"River saw a few familiar faces," He explained to Carolyn. It had the benefit of being the truth, he just hadn't said where she saw them. "Thought it best to get the ship into the Black before they got here."

"I understand," The blonde nodded. "Simon's keeping Mal in bed for the next couple days."

"How bad was he shot," Riddick sighed. The Captain had the worst luck of anyone he'd ever met.

"Shoulder and hip," She echoed his sigh. "Hence the bedrest. The joints need time to heal before he can go walking around. Kaylee's making a cane out of some pipe and rubber."

"River's gonna need some rest, we both could use a meal, but I can take a shift right after I eat something if you want to go sleep, check on Mal," He offered.

"Go, eat, shower, catch a nap," Carolyn shook her head. "Let Jack know you survived another insane situation. You can relieve me in a few hours." She gave him a smile, "I can handle sitting on the bridge for a while longer."

"Thanks Carolyn," Riddick felt most of the tension he'd been carrying drain away. "I appreciate it."

Author's Note: So they've been on their own together and neither one has killed the other. I'll admit to me, this is a true test of their potential. Without anyone else, can they trust each other to do their part, keep up and keep going until they're safe again. And Riddick jumping off the boat to go after her, that's a natural progression of the direction he's headed.

My husband and I talk a lot, about why the heroics in a lot of situations. Why people run into a burning building, why go towards the gunfire… And we sum it up as 'what can you live with'? Can you live with the fact that you didn't do anything when someone you liked or loved was facing trouble. Not 'who are you going to kill' but 'who and what are you trying to protect'.

Chinese Translations:

Yī zhī méi yǒu mǔ qīn de shān yáng de ér zi (son of a motherless goat)

Wèi le cào yuán gù (For fuck's sake)

Ō, zhè zhēn shì ge kuàilè de jìnzhǎn (Oh, this is a happy development)

gǎo zále (fucked up)

Tiān shā de (Goddam! / goddamn / wretched)

Shàngbān ba (Let's get to work)

hún dàn (bastard) (individual who has at least two biological fathers and one biological mother - bastard / scoundrel / bastard / hoodlum / wretch)