Chapter 12

Mal and Juliet lie panting on the cargo bay floor, exhausted after a rather competitive game of globe ball. They are still smiling, endorphins coursing through their bloodstream, causing a giddiness that was not altogether unpleasant. “You cheated,” Juliet states, giggling slightly. “You are a rotten cheater.” Mal laughs incredulously at her. “No more than you, you little nuisance!” She rolls over and punches his shoulder lightly. “Cheater.” Mal closes his eyes, a broad grin still on his face. “You still ain’t found anythin’ to wear to the party, you know. We arrive in the mornin’.” “Maybe I’ll just go nekkid.” “There’s a good idea. I like that idea.” “Or I could borrow something of yours.” “Not ‘xactly likely you’d find somethin’ to your tastes.” “Oh, I dunno. I’m sure there’re some soft cotton dresses somewhere in there…” She jumps up, laughing as Mal lunges after her. She flees up the stairs, with him hot on her tail. They meet Zoë as they whip into the dining area. She opens her mouth to speak but Juliet cuts her off, dodging around the table. “One of us is gonna fall and die, and you’re not clearing it up!” Zoë closes her mouth and shakes her head. “And there was me thinkin’ that because you could hear our concerns, you might actually take them into considerin’. Obviously not.” “Nope!” River’s scream pierces around the ship. All activity instantly ceases. Simon leaps up from his seat in the corner and sprints toward infirmary. Juliet and Mal instantly follow him, their game forgotten.

~*~*~

They’re coming. Coming for her. And her. And him. The ones they lost. The ones that escaped the inescapable. The ones they want back. “River!” They’re coming for him, the panic in her mind says. Can’t stop them. Can’t make them go away. Make them go away. Hit them and they don’t flinch, don’t react. "River, no!" "Jule!" Fire and metal. Pain in her neck and a numbness, a terrifying emptiness spreading through her like fire in a forest.

~*~*~

“Will she be ok?” Mal asks, looking at the slumped girl. Simon sighs, packing neatly away the syringe he had used on his sister to stop her. “Which one?” Mal’s gaze shifts across to River, the teenager’s body crumpled on the bed like a rag doll. “Either of them. Will they ever be ok?” Simon just laughs, cold and devoid of humour. “I don’t think I’m quite qualified to answer that. But the sedative I used on River was mild, so she should wake in the late morning, at the earliest. Juliet…” “Got thrown across the room by your sister.” He crouches down beside her on the floor, straightening her body out, brushing her hair away from the blood seeping from the wound on her forehead. “Can’t say that girl’s the most normal seventeen year old, from my experience.” Simon crouches by Juliet’s other side, opening his small red case and taking out a pack of butterfly bandages and sealed sterile cloths. He cleans the cut gently and seals it with the bandages. It’s superficial, really, which is a surprise to him, considering the force with which she had hit the wall. She should be worse off, if his understanding of basic physics and his knowledge of the human body was anything to go by. In fact, she’s regaining consciousness already, her face stirring, breathing becoming irregular. Normality dictated that a crack to the head like that should knock her out cold for a good time, giving her brain enough time to recover. But apparently normality doesn’t really matter to River and Juliet. No matter what he does. Mal takes Juliet’s hand as she wakes, smiling softly into her eyes. “Wha’ happened ‘bout me?” she mumbles, finally managing to focus on him and smile back. “Hey, cap’n.” “Our resident prodigy threw you across the room.” “Really?” Juliet struggles up into a sitting position with Mal’s help. She winces, holding her head. “Oh, yeah. Ouch. I hope she doesn’t do it again.” “Why did she?” Juliet looks at Simon with a disbelieving expression on her face. “How should I know?” “Well, you, I mean you…” “Can hear loud thoughts. Stray thoughts. Things people concentrate on a lot. Strong emotions.” She flicks his nose playfully. He jumps, surprise all over his face as he rubs his nose. “Hey…” “Non specific, you boob.” “Well, what did you get just before she grabbed you?” “Mal very scared and you panicked worse than a rabbit caught in headlights.” “What?” Simon’s confusion stems from the odd statement, though, Juliet realises, not that she couldn’t detect anything about his sister. She giggles at his ignorance. Mal smirks, realising that Simon doesn’t know what Juliet is talking about. She decides to put him out of his misery. “It’s a term from earth that was. To describe someone that was like a rabbit caught in headlights was to say that the person had an expression like a human may have if suddenly confronted with a transport ship bearing down upon them.” “Oh.” Simon’s brow is still furrowed. “What’s a rabbit, exactly?” “Little rodent. Basically a rat with long ears and a fluffy white tail.” Mal bursts out laughing, momentarily forgetting the situation. Simon just glares at him. “I don’t know everything, you know,” he snaps irritably. The com buzzes, breaking of Mal’s relentless mirth and Simon’s glare. Wash’s voice rings out. He’s panicked. “Captain to the bridge!” Juliet stiffens, fear playing across her face. “Jule? Jule! What the hell is it?” Mal drops her unresisting hand and runs for the bridge.

~*~*~

The firefly class ship has no expression, but if it did, perhaps it would be as Juliet had described Simon. For in front of the Alliance cruiser, the tiny cargo hauler is like a human, suddenly confronted with a transport ship bearing down upon it.