boyRiver's 'verse - Onboard Serenity - Saving Lacey

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

Save her. Her being a girl named Lacey. It's what they'd told them about. Mornbein didn't know it but for him they'd gotten rather loud. The voices normally did. When he went through the cafe door he'd landed right in the cargo hold and noted the four guns pointed at some girl he didn't know. His own gun was suddenly raised and pointed right back at them.

"River?"

His eyes narrowed slightly at his big brother. "Put 'em down."

"No ruttin' way I'm takin' orders from..." Jayne starts but backs up once that gun is pointed at him. He knows how crazy moonbrain there is.

"Now." River says those eyes just watching them. Once the guns are down and the crew backs up he cants his head and looks at the girl. No, she didn't go squish. Her brainpan was still intact. "Are you okay?"

Comments

[random-others.livejournal.com]

Lacey stares at him, then nods and lowers her eyes, her mind still blank with shock.

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

River watches the rest of the crew go off except for his brother. "Don't need a doctor?" He asks before Simon can even say anything.

[random-others.livejournal.com]

She looks up, then looks at the guns and draws away slightly, shaking her head.

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

"Won't hurt you. Won't let them." He states simply.

[random-others.livejournal.com]

Her face creases, but she's fighting desperately not to cry. She's got no idea what's going on, and what she's seeing around her makes no sense when she'd only been walking across the back hayfeild a few minutes ago.

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

And River wraps a comforting arm around her and takes her to the galley where Kaylee was. He notices that their engineer doesn't even ask question just sets out two cups of tea down before them. "This is Serenity."

[random-others.livejournal.com]

She's still shaking and shooting glances at his new gun, but she puts her hands around the tea and warms them. "What...." She swallows and bites her lip hard to keep the tears in. "What is?"

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

He's not sure what to do with the gun so it gets set aside. "This ship. It's Serenity."

[random-others.livejournal.com]

"Ship," the word is soft and broken, as though her mind is straining to take it all in. "I... was in the feild."

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

"Portal there?" River asks canting his head a bit.

[random-others.livejournal.com]

"What?" Confused brown eyes look up to meet his.

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

"It's how you got here. A portal."

[random-others.livejournal.com]

She just shakes her head in incomprehension.

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

"All worlds have them." He states softly.

[random-others.livejournal.com]

"But...." She holds her head in her hands. "This is all just nuts. It doesn't make sense!"

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

"Not meant to."

[random-others.livejournal.com]

She swallows. "Where is it? How do I go home?"

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

He frowns a bit. "Can't. Closed up." Or so the voices tell him.

[random-others.livejournal.com]

"Can't go home?" Her voice is a strangled squeak.

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

"No." He frowns. "Sorry." Even though he didn't do it.

[random-others.livejournal.com]

She just sits there and feels her head spin for a moment, then starts to cry.

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

And he's not sure what to do. Simon normally fixes things. So instead he just goes over and hugs her.

[random-others.livejournal.com]

But she stiffens and pushes away. She doesn't know him yet, isn't sure he's not part of the problem. She's been ripped away from everything she's ever known or thought made sense and now her mind is trying to short out over it.

[a-few-extra-men.livejournal.com]

So he just pulls away at a complete and total loss on what to do.

[random-others.livejournal.com]

It takes awhile, but finally, for now, there's no cry left in her. She sits there with her head on the table for a few minutes, then gives a huge sniff and sits up, grimacing in disgust as she wipes her nose on her hand.