My Serenity

~(OC) Aydrian’s Perspective~

God, I really hate meeting with clients. They try to act all cool as if we’re meeting in a dark alley wearing trench coats and dark glasses, but when it comes down to it they’re all completely stupid. We usually meet in public places such as a bar or a market, where the local police have to get in close to us to avoid endangering civilians. The plus side to them getting in close is that I can usually feel them long before they reach us.



That is one of my skills, or a curse if you look at it from a certain angle. Due to the alliance poking around inside my head years ago I gained the impeccable ability to sense an individual’s feelings. It’s awfully useful, but I still haven’t mastered the ability to shut out emotions in crowded areas. There are too many miserable people on this stupid planet!



This client however, is a little more secretive. I was told to meet them in a private location at a Noble’s district. Normally you would need a pass to enter the district, because the Nobles get a little cranky when they see an unwashed one on their streets, but anyone with any acrobatic skill can get over the wall.



I like to prove my death wish whenever I can, so my clothes consist of clothing that the Independence used to wear during the war. My intention was to get the guard’s attention once I reach the gate to the Noble’s district. It works...



“Hey!” One of the guards yell and I look at him curiously as he and his buddy, notably the only other guard at the gate, approach me. I take a quick look around and take note that no one else is in the area. The area around the gate is mostly full of homes for the unwealthy, which is pretty much more like a stone oven than an actual home.



“Is there a problem?” I ask, and can’t resist the smirk that appears on my face. God, angering Alliance troops is so much fun. One of them walks behind me and the other one stands directly in front of me, his gun raised. Hmm, odd, niether of them seem to be annoyed. Crap, I think I found the only two Alliance guards who don’t deserve an ass kicking.



“I’m sorry, sir, but Independence soldiers are not welcome politely here. If you don’t want trouble you should remove your coat.” The guard standing in front of me says. Oh “sir” he says. Well, this guy is nice. “But it’s winter here, i use this coat to stay warm.” I respond and the one behind me suddenly gets annoyed. I don’t have to look at him to discover that fact.



“Sir, we have to insist you remove your coat!” The one behind me says, trying to be a little more authoritive. How cute. “We would really hate it if we have to clean your blood off the street after someone with no regard for the law shoots you.”



Ok, I’m getting bored. “Well I suppose I have no other choice...” I say and my words seem to make them relax and the one in front lowers his gun. Perfect! My hands shoot out forward and back and grab the barrels of both of their guns, with a sharp tug I pull them out of the guard’s hands and whip around, connecting the butt of their guns against their heads in an instant, knocking them to unconscious to the ground.



I sigh and throw the guns aside, taking a quick second to see if they’re alright then I head for the gate.



~River’s Perspective ~

I wake up to the feeling of something hard hitting me on the head. I clinch my teeth hard in pain and press my hand against my forehead, trying to soothe my thoughts. Lots of things can happen in a dream, but most people have the security that when they wake up those things aren’t real. My brain still has trouble distinguishing real pain from imaginary pain. This isn’t the first time something has happened in a dream that carried over into reality, but I have no idea of the cause.



I try to focus on the young man’s face I saw in my mind. There is something so disturbingly familiar about him but there is no telling how many memories I lost when the Academy poked around in my brain. Slowly the throbbing disipates and I stand up from my bed, only just noticing that I am still naked from the night before. Oh, I hope Simon didn’t come in here! I blush and put on a clean new gown, then exit my room. My bare feet touch softly on the metal floor and Serenity greets me good morning. “Good morning, Serenity.”



My room isn’t too far from the Medical Lab, probably because Simon doesn’t want me too far away should something happen to me. As I walk up to the entrance to the medical lab, I peek inside and see Simon seated at the table writing into a notepad. Annoyingly enough, I haven’t been too good at sneaking up on him lately, because as I enter the room he turns his head toward me and smiles. A grin spreads across my lips at seeing him so relaxed.



“Hello, mei mei. Did you sleep well?” I simply nod, not wanting to concern him with the headache I got from my most recent dream. The last thing I want is for him to start trying to fix me again. “What are you writing?” I ask and slowly walk up closer to him. He chuckles and looks back down at the notepad, “Do you really need to ask me that?” No. No I don’t. I can just merely read his mind and know all I need to know in an instant. But...



“I’m trying not to read people too much. It takes the fun out of hearing them speak.” I say and smile slightly. Instead of a response Simon closes the notepad, “It’s nothing important. We’ll be arriving in Ariel soon to pick up some supplies.” He places the notepad in a desk and locks it. “We might be there a few days, although the Captain isn’t too happy about it. Inara has a client and the crew needs a job.”



He turns to me, “You will need to lay low while we’re on Ariel. It’s unlikely that the hospital we stole from has forgotten about the theft and they’re probably still looking. We wouldn’t be anywhere near this planet if we weren’t desperate for some income.”



He’s right of course. After all of Mal’s contacts were killed off by the Alliance Operative, it’s been nearly impossible to find work. It’s forced us to try our luck at Alliance heavy planets, which makes getting a job easier, but a lot riskier. We’ve barely been getting by.



“Will I at least be able to leave Serenity?” I ask and Simon goes silent, considering the possibility. I know he’s concerned, and although I love Serenity, it would be lovely to feet freshly cut grass beneath my feet. He seems to sense my need to get out because he smiles, “I don’t see why not as long as someone else is with you. The Alliance hasn’t shown any further interest in you and with the trouble it’s having after the broadcast, I doubt they would know what to do even if they know who you are.”



I smile joyfully at that and tightly hug him. I can feel the surprise in him, both physically and emotionally, but he hugs me back. “I’m so happy to have my little sister back.” He whispers and my heart warms. He sacrificed so much to get me to the point of being me, and now that we’ve reached that point he can finally be himself again. The bond between siblings has always been a fascinating thing. Siblings can grow up to love each other or hate each other, but they always share that bond.



It’s that bond that convinced Simon to give up everything to come save me, it’s that bond that caused us to board Serenity and start a life niether one of us could have ever foreseen for ourselves, and it’s that bond that makes it all feel worth it. Knowing he’s happy, and the fact that knowing I’m happy makes him happy, certainly makes it worth it.



Later, as I exit Serenity and take my second step into Ariel, I realize that I’m a good actress.



Something is missing...



That thing that makes me happy...



And I don’t even know where to begin to look for it...



Good actress indeed...



~Author's Note~

Hello everyone, here's the next chapter. This chapter had a purpose, and that was to introduce an original character with ties to River's time at the academy, and explain some difficulty the crew is having after what occurred in the movie. I want to stress that this is a LOVE STORY. Trust me, I like writing sex, but you won't see it in every chapter. The pairings WILL happen, just give them more time. In the next chapter I hope to focus on Mal and Inara, but who knows I may change my mind. Tell me what you think. Enjoy!