CHAPTER THREE

For disclaimer etc, see part 1 As always, thank you Guinevere for the bèta. ------ ------ ----- -----

Things aren’t always what they seem. River knew this longer than today. Hell, she probably knows it better than others too. Girl... Weapon... But that wasn’t the point. Not anymore.

Take Jayne, grunting in the cargo bay as he places his weights back into their holders. He pretends he doesn’t care, doesn’t look, but he knows Zoë is there, doing the exact same thing. River knows better than to pretend.

Take her ghuh-ghuh Simon. All fancy and sophisticated, but in the dark when he’s naked he doesn’t care about the rules and thoughts of the rich society he grew up in. All that matters then is the young girl in his arms, and how to make her smile that special smile of hers, and how to make her moan.

Things aren’t what they seem. River sees a pretty planet, with cities that have luxurious things. Not like on the Coreplanets, but still nice. And besides the shiny cities there’s the beautiful countryside, once pure and unharmed. She sees a horse and its young foal, she sees children climbing trees, she sees her captain with a faraway look in his eyes as he guides the ship down. He smiles briefly when Inara comes up behind him, squeezing his shoulder lightly, but River can still sense the tension in the air. Something is off. She had felt it earlier too, even before they were descending

Mal isn’t what he seems...

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**Shadow – Maresh-harbor**

Every port is the same. They may be on different planets, have different people and buildings and ships, but in the end there’s the same hustle and bustle. The small marketplaces that sell ‘good dogs’, the little shops with rich and colourful fabrics… Yes, Maresh wasn’t any different from lets say the Eavesdown docks on Persephone. But they weren’t on Persephone. This was Shadow, and for once, Mal wished it was Badger’s piece of rock…

Kaylee danced past him towards a vegetable stand, softly singing a song like a little kid that was up to no good. Simon was not far behind, a smile on his face. Even Zoë had decided to explore the small city a bit, Jayne by her side.

”It looks nice,” Inara said, coming up behind him.

Mal turned around to face her, and was struck by a vision. She was wearing a simple, dark red, silken dress, her hair down, a rain of curls… She wasn’t wearing any make-up except for some mascara, and he’d never seen her more beautiful.

He swallowed, then turned his gaze towards the crowd again.

”It’s okay,” he agreed. He never had had anything against the city. The city had supplies the locals needed, a doctor, schools…

Inara smiled at him, comforting him somehow, then linked her arm through his as she watched how Kaylee jumped up and down before hugging Simon.

”Guess she found some strawberries,” she commented.

Before Mal could reply, River walked up next to them, a smile on her face.

“The ghosts aren’t here,” she announced, then stared at Mal for a while before running towards her brother and Kaylee, giggling as she did so.

Mal could feel goosebumps starting to appear on his skin and he shivered involuntarily. River could be downright creepy when she was reading thoughts.

”Are you okay?” Inara asked.

”Yeah, just a bit chilly out here. I’m gonna go back inside.” Mal stated and moved away from her, back into the safe darkness of the airlock.

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Simon was amazed at how Kaylee could rejoice over something as simple as a pile of garbage. Of course to her it wasn’t garbage… They were all spare parts for spaceships. And her own spaceship was as a child to her…

They had been lucky to find the little scrap shop at the end of the docks. Mal had pointed them in that general direction, but even for the captain it had been years since he had last set foot on Shadow so he wasn’t that sure himself. Besides, not every harbour in this part of the ‘verse had a specialized parts shop. The junkyard was perfect for their purpose; it was not as though they were big on cash right now.

It didn’t take long for Kaylee to find the right part, and when she did, she giggled like a little kid that had gotten a new toy. The part looked fairly new, and was pretty cheap. To make her happiness complete, she found some ‘tenders. That could never do no harm!

“I got what we need,” she announced with a smile, darting towards him from between two spoil heaps.

Simon gave her a big smile. “So, we can get back to the ship now?”

Kaylee laughed. Simon had loosened up during the months on Serenity. Hell, he even picked up a gun every now and then, and he was quite the criminal mastermind. He had exchanged his uptight outfits for something more comfortable, but place him in a scrap shop and the boy is at a loss!

It reminded her at how different they really were. How different their backgrounds were. ‘Don’t matter none’ she said to herself, then kissed Simon as to chase those thoughts away. She loved him, and he loved her… That was all she needed.

About time too he finally admitted he liked her, those batteries were getting expensive!

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TBC