“Mal”. Kaylee yelled up from the cargo hold. “They’re here, I can see them coming, you should come down”. Mal made his way down, his boots clanking against the dark iron of the steps of the stairway.

The man he had met yesterday, still wearing the grey suit that made him look so like an Alliance general was standing in the hold, in his arms was his daughter bundled up in a blanket, with them a dark coloured man, clearly a slave or servant of some kind, carrying a couple of cases and large rucksack type bags.

Mal sauntered towards them, eager not to appear too desperate for the money they needed so badly.

“Captain Reynolds”. The man greeted him with a curt nod of his head. “Sir”. Malcolm responded. “I take it my daughters quarters are ready?” The man demanded. “They are sir, please follow me”. Malcolm replied. He led the way back up the iron stairway and into the section of Serenity that housed the passengers quarters.

He opened the sliding door to the largest of the ensuite passenger rooms and stood back to let the man, his daughter and the servant enter, before stepping inside himself. The man gently placed his daughter on the bed and bent down next to her softly muttering his farewells, Malcolm looked away uneasy at witnessing the mans last moments with his daughter. Finally the man stood up and turned to face Malcolm. “I trust you will take good care of my daughter, Captain Reynolds”. The man asked. “That we will sir”. Malcolm replied as the man brushed past him, his servant following silently, pausing only to thrust an envelope stuffed with notes into Malcolm’s palm as they hastily made his way out of Serenity entrusting his daughter in the care of Malcolm and his crew. Malcolm sighed heavily and stuffing the envelope in the back pocket of his breeches he made his way over to the bed to greet Serenity’s newest occupant. He crouched down next to the bed expecting to find a teenage girl staring up at him, the girl wasn’t a child, wasn’t a teenager, but was a young woman older than River and probably close to Kaylee in age. Her silvery grey eyes were enormous in her small elfin face; her hair fell in long, pale golden waves around her shoulders, her frame petit and delicate. Mal caught his breathe, she was unusual looking, very attractive in an other-worldly kind of way. Mal resisted the urge to reach out and touch her, instead choosing to introduce himself. “I am Malcolm Reynolds; I am the captain of Serenity”. “My name is Mist”. The girl replied softly. “Mal”. Simon interrupted their brief exchange. Mal stood up stepping away for the bedside as he introduced the ships medic. “This is Simon, Dr Tam”. Simon placed his bag upon the bed and brought a chair over so that he could sit next to the bed. “I’ll leave you to it”. Malcolm commented in his best captain’s voice.

“Can you tell me about your accident?” Simon questioned her. Mist shook her head “I don’t remember, I…” “It’s ok”. Simon said soothingly. “Just tell me what you do remember”.

“I remember a white room, bright lights that hurt my eyes, tall, white, shiny people whispering, red and pain in my head, in my back, my chest, tingling and heaviness, lying on a hard bed, people moving me, hurting me, a man my father”. She paused clearly distressed at her confusion.

Simon reached out tentively and stroked her cheek, the action having the same calming affected it did on his sister, River when she became incoherent and distressed.

“Will you let me examine you?” Simon requested. “I’ll try my best not to hurt you”.

Mist nodded in response her uncertainty evident as she caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

He took the hand closest to him in his own and asked her to grip his hand, getting the response he expected. He asked her to move her arms, to hold them off of the bed for as long as she could, to reach above her head, to flex her muscles, to push her hand against his own. He worked his way over her body, testing her muscle control, her strength and muscle tone, sensation and involuntary reflexes.

Almost as soon as Simon had finished examining her, her eyes closed and she was fast asleep. Simon found Mal and the others in the mess.

“So what’s the verdict Doc?” Mal asked.

“From what I can gather from my exam, Mist has suffered a SCI”. Simon began. “A what?” Kaylee asked.

“A spinal cord injury, in Mists case it means she has no voluntary movements from the chest downwards, she has some sensation, the movements of her hands are also affected. In simple terms she cannot walk, stand or even sit up unaided, she cannot take care of her every day needs. She will need physical therapy to prevent her muscles wasting, in addition to this she will need to be fed, washed, changed and turned”. Simon looked around the room at the shocked, confused faces, people in the outer rim didn’t survive that type of injury the medical care just wasn’t available.

Malcolm turned to his crew. “Since we’re all getting a cut of the money, I expect every one of you to help Simon take care of the girl, do you understand me?” He demanded, without waiting for a response he swung round and strode from the mess.

Mists father had been right then, he thought to himself, she wasn’t going to cause any trouble because she couldn’t, she seemed like a sweet girl, there was something about her that had got to Mal, touched him deep down inside and Mal didn’t like that feeling, he didn’t like it one single bit.

Kaylee stomped into the mess and fairly threw the bowl down on the table in frustration. “I give up, that girl, she ain’t never gonna eat”. She sighed as she slumped down in the seat opposite Jayne. She didn’t even look up as Jayne pulled the bowl across the table towards him, he stood and as quietly as he could slipped out of the room.

Mist stirred caught somewhere between sleep and wakefulness as Jayne sat down heavily on the edge on the bed. He put his hand up to her face his index finger slowly tracing the outline of her lips. Mists eyes opened and she drifted out of her dreams, the faint tickling sensation awakening her from her peaceful slumber. Jayne brought the spoon to her mouth, running the edge over her lips as he had done with his finger until her lips parted and her mouth opened, as swiftly as if he were pulling his pistol from his belt he angled the spoon so that he could get her to take some of the porridge from it, she chewed, swallowed and opened her mouth for another spoonful. A smile split Jayne’s face as big as if he had single-handedly brought the Alliance to their knees.

Soon the bowl was finished, reluctantly Jayne stood up to leave, as he did so Kaylee appeared in the doorway, Jayne pushed roughly past her trusting the empty bowl into her hands and leaving without uttering a single word, leaving Kaylee dumbfounded.

Inara smiled down at Mist, even though the companion was able to make the slow, humiliating process of being bathed and changed almost pleasurable Mist was grateful that she could finally sink back against the soft warmth of the pillows once more. Although she was weary her senses were keen and she could hear footsteps approaching. Mist watched as Inara’s face lit up in anticipation as the Captain strode into the room. Inara’s expression changed as Mal approached her feelings, as always, guarded when in the presence of the man she loved. “I would like to brush Mist’s hair, will you help me?” Inara asked. Mal paused unwilling to spend too much time in Inara’s company; but he didn’t shake his head and say he was busy. Instead he remembered how much Kaylee adored having Inara brush and fix her hair, who was he to deprive Mist of something had could bring her a little pleasure? He sat down on Mists bed and bending over her he lifted her from the comfort of the pillows into his strong embrace. Mist sighed as he cradled her against his chest, she could feel the hardness of his muscles through the fabric of his shirt and hear the faint beating of his heart.

Mal tried to ignore the soft swell of Mist’s breasts as he pressed her against him, his arms wrapped around her fragile torso, one hand supporting her neck as Inara brushed her hair in long smooth strokes. Mal caught his breath as Mist murmured in appreciation. Inara watched the expressions cross Mal’s face, what he closed off from her, his feelings, his emotions were plain; he did not feel the need to protect himself from a crippled girl as he did from her. Inara wasn’t stupid, she knew Mal cared for her deeply, that he would die to protect her, but she also knew he would never come to terms with her profession, that it would always come between them and there was probably nothing either of them could do to change it. Inara finished her one hundredth stroke and stood up to admire her handiwork, Mists hair glistened in the dim light as though it were made from gold. She watched sadly as Mal slowly lowered Mist back against the pillows, something about the tender way he treated Mist, who was little more than a stranger wrenched at her heart and made Inara want to cry.

Mist drifted in and out of sleep the dreams absorbing her every moment, on the boat, Serenity, the days merge into the nights, into an endless dream where people cared for her and catered to her every need. The people, the captain and his crew were good people, different from those she had known at the hospital, it felt good to be here laying amongst the soft coolness of the cotton sheets and pillows, wrapped up in the cosy warmth of the duvets and blankets, it made her feel safe.

River sat in the corridor, Mist kind of liked the girl, she was broken like Mist herself, but broken on the inside where no one could see.

Mist could hear River muttering to herself as she sat cross legged on the floor, sometimes she was as innocent as a small child and sometimes it was like she carried the weight of the world upon her shoulders.

River looked up and smiled at Mist, then she stood up as she always did in one fluid movement and made her way to Mists bedside. She carried with her two plastic dinosaurs, a t-rex and a stegosaurus. River places the dinosaurs on the bed next to Mist and starts to play with them, talking in a strange voice. (Stegosaurus): We will rule over all this land, and we will call it... "This Land." (T-Rex): I think we should call it "your grave!" (Stegosaurus): Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! (T-Rex): Ha ha ha! Mine is an evil laugh! Now die!

Mist heard footsteps coming down the corridor, they paused just outside the room, the half light casting Zoë’s shadow on the opposite wall as she listened to River.

Rivers voice changed back to normal, “He loved her you know, he would have died for her, he loved them all very much”. River told nobody in particular. Her voice changed again. “That's right, of course, 'cause they wouldn't arrest me if we got boarded, I'm just the pilot. I can always say I was flying the ship by accident.”

"Oh, my God. What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing? Oh, right, that would be me. "

"I wish I was somebody else right now, somebody not... married, not madly in love with a beautiful woman who can kill me with her pinkie."

”Were I unwed, I'd take you in a manly fashion.”

”Sweetie, we're crooks. If everything were right, we'd be in jail.”

“Hey, I've been in a fire fight before....Well, I was in a fire....actually I was fired, from a fry cook opportunity. I can handle myself.”

"Mmm wife’s soup. I must have done good."

Rivers voice changed once again as she started to sing

“Take my love, take my land Take me where I cannot stand I don't care, I'm still free You can't take the sky from me Take me out to the black Tell them I ain't comin' back Burn the land and boil the sea You can't take the sky from me There's no place I can be Since I found Serenity”.

“She feels empty”. River surmised. “So alone, she lies in their bunk at night and sheds no tears, she stares at the place were he once slept, wears in his favourite shirt”. “She blames herself, wishes she had been a better wife, a lesser soldier, she longs for his touch, his kindness, to hear his laughter, to feel his skin against her own. She wishes that they had more time together, that they had gone on vacation, had children, all of the stuff normal folks do”. River pauses. “She is not alone, inside they all cry, for their pilot, their comrade, their beloved friend. They miss his kindness, his laughter, his love. He was not a murderer or a thief. He was a leaf on the wind, watch how he soars. He is not dead, he lives on in the ship that he loved, in their hearts, their memories, he is part of their family, of the boat they call home”.

River stares out into space, still talking to nobody in particular, but Zoë knows who her words were meant for, she doesn’t know why but Rivers crazy talk comforts her, somehow the moon-brained girl knows that her heart is breaking, somehow she understands exactly what Zoë needs to hear, that she is not alone and that Wash loved her more than life itself.

Jayne stared intently at the wall in front of him as he tried to gain control over himself, in some ways the night shift was easier, it meant less mothering and fussing, in other ways it was far worse, turning the girl, feeling the soft warmth of her skin against his rough hands, made his blood pressure rise, that he was attracted to a crippled girl spooked him more than a little and there’s two more hours to go until he could get back to his bunk.

“Gorram it”. Jayne swore quietly as Mist murmured and stirred in her sleep. She wheezed a little and her eyes shot open. Jayne panicked, Simon had explained to them all that Mist had trouble coughing and shown them how to help her cough, it never occurred to Jayne that he might have to actually help her.

Another wheeze brought Jayne to his senses, Jayne looked own and seeing the fear in Mists eyes he lifted her against him, struggling to remember what Simon had demonstrated, he cupped his hand and pressed beneath her ribcage, Mist coughed and spluttered and then her breathing seemed to become easier. Jayne laid her back against the pillows and as he did so Mist started to cry. “Gorram it girl what the ruttin hell is wrong now?” Jayne demanded.

In response, Mist turned her head away from him so her face was hidden but continued to cry, Jayne sat down heavily on the bed next to her and sighed, he wasn’t kitted out to deal with all this girly emotional stuff. “You aughta talk about it, I ain’t sitting here listening to you getting all tore up” Jayne told her. “I hate it” Mist started, her voice little more than an angry whisper. “I hate lying here in this bed and having other people take care of me, I want to dance like River or fight like Zoë, I want to be normal and have a normal life, have a boyfriend like Kaylee, I want to have someone love me, someone want me”. Mist started to cry again.

“There’s men who would want you, I ain’t saying you’re gonna be like other girls cos the doc says you ain’t, but you’re real pretty, shiny even if you ain’t normal like”.

Mist shook her head in disbelief. “You tie my guts up in knots every time I so much as look at you”. Jayne almost yelled at her. He grabbed her hand and pressed it hard against the swelling in his trousers. “I ain’t gonna love you, I’m too old, too ugly”… Jayne began the lack of fear in Mists expression spooking him once more.

“I want to feel” she told him honestly her voice pleading, shredding the last thread of common sense Jayne had managed to keep a hold of . “I don’t want to be a girl forever”. Jayne watched frozen as she moved her other arm towards him, this must be a dream, he thought, he must have hit his ruttin head. Tiny shards of electric shot through him as her fingers brushed against his chest, he seized her small hand in his own and looked down at it, at the fingers that could feel but were unable to curl around his and at that moment he knew that he was going to go to a special kind of hell. “I can’t be all gentle like, I how know how”. He told her. “I don’t want you to be, I want to feel what other women feel, not be treated like a china doll”. She replied softly.

He looked down at her hands, one still resting against his groin, the other lying limply in his strong grip and swallowed a large gulp of air. He hesitantly pushed back the duvets and blankets, staring at her feminine curves for an instant before he bent forward help her lift her arms around his neck, with one arm he lifted her off of the pillows, his free hand cupping her face as he leant in and kissed her, his lips skimming hers, then kissing more firmly, his tongue exploring the dark cavern of her mouth as her lips parted and she responded, all his remaining control over himself instantly fled from his mind. His hand began to caress her neck and then knead her breast, he paused to check he wasn’t hurting her as she cried out a little, before he lay her back against the pillows so he could quickly shed his clothes. He lifted her against him, his expert hands caress her as he undressed her casting her nightdress and diaper to one side with practiced ease. He held her, moved her body against his and kissed her and stroked her until he was sure she was relaxed enough for him to enter her silky warmth, they moved as one Jayne guiding her body, stroking, and kisses her, his flesh rubbing against hers until she thought stars were going to explode inside of her head and she cried out, a tingling wave spread over her body that she had never experienced before. Jayne held her close and carried on kissing her until both of their hearts had stop pounding. Slowly, unwillingly he untangled their bodies and lay Mist reluctantly back against the pillows, his hands were shaking as he cleaned her and helped her dress before he dressed himself, he felt strange, kind or warm inside but oddly sad, at what he didn’t know, as he re-arranged the bedding around her. Mist smiled up at him, still light-headed, her expression a little dazed as he sat down next to her. He took her hand in his own once more holding it in his strong grip until Mist drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Mal breathed a deep sigh of relief as River finally set the Firefly down on the dusty red soil of Olaris. Mal would never be comfortable on the central planets, he found them unsettling, far to many rules and the too perfectness of these places made him uneasy even though River and Simon had been pardoned following the events on Miranda, meaning the Alliance were no longer a threat to his crews wellbeing there ever presentness still troubled him. He heard the familiar sound of the mules engine fire up and hurried down to join Zoë in the hold, rather than taking his usual position in the front with Zoë, Mal clambered into the rear of the vehicle and Jayne came carefully down the narrow stairway, his muscle bound arms wrapped securely around his precious cargo. Something about Mists trusting manner and the mercs uncharacteristic gentleness made Mal a little uneasy. In fact a whole lot of things about the girl and the change that had come over his crew since her arrival made Mal uneasy, it was as if she was a witch who had cast an enchanting spell over them all, it wasn’t anything but a good thing that her stay had been so short, merciful even Mal decided. Mist smiled serenely up at the huge merc as he passed her to Mal who settled her comfortably against him and Mal could have sworn that Jayne almost blushed, which certainly wasn’t something they experienced every day. He swung himself up into the front seat next to muttering gruffly to himself as she revved up the engine. “Looks like a nice place this” Zoë surmised as she pulled up outside the house where Mists uncle and aunt were said to reside. Two people presumably Mists uncle and aunt emerged from the open doorway. They were neatly presented, there clothes all pressed and the like, well to do respectable folk, who smiled warmly at them as Jayne lifted Mist into his arms once more. It made Zoë envious, made her kind what might have been. The uncle stepped forward and shook hands with Mal enquiring if there journey had been good, his wife offered them all refreshments that Mal politely declined as her husband greeted his niece and took her from the now familiar security of Jayne’s arms and carried her inside her new home. Zoë noticed both the men watching the now closed door of Mists new home and decided that there was definitely something bewitching about the girl.