A.N.: Inspired by the Mark Schulz song, “Walking Her Home”

A bit of fluff for BlueEyedBrigadier who complained about River’s love interests dying… well here’s a story of River and her true love living a long happy life. I know it’s short, but I’m just trying to hit the highlights. Her love, Wei, is a character introduced in “The Osiris Run” (hereafter, TOR), so the reader (as in fic-reader) is recommended there for more of their history together.

Salient points: Wei is a reader (as in mind-reader) like River and also a victim of the ‘Academy.’ They met in her first month there when he attempted (and failed) to escape and took her along for the journey (see TOR: Prologue). During TOR (which is pre-BDM), they were briefly reunited on Serenity. This story picks up at some point post-BDM. Consider that a warning for movie spoilers. Also be warned, this is so fluffy, I may accused borrowing character names for my own fantasy. --- River's Love Song

(about 60 years post-series)

When he left, River woke up, briefly silhouetted by the light in the hall before he closed the door behind himself. She ran her fingers through her hair, decidedly hiding her wakefulness from him, lest he come back. He needed to be on his way tonight. Still, it was her first night alone in a bed, in a strange place, without her husband. She listened to the soft thrum of the ceiling fan, closed her eyes, and fought her aging memory to recall how this blessing fell into her life. The first time she met him, she was scared to death of him. A reader, able to kill people with his brain. She was fourteen, new to the Academy, and apprehensive as its promises were slowly exposed as lies. He had saved her life that day – not just from drowning, but from a life of submission. Were it not for him, she would never have found a way to contact Simon. Never would have gotten out. The second time they met, he just fell on the doorstep of Serenity, so broken, so far gone that he could hardly speak. The way his thoughts wandered about the room and his feet followed intrigued her. Mal was frightened of him – worried he would hurt the crew, but River knew better. Or at least she wanted to. But both were fugitives and it wasn’t safe to travel together. After Miranda, he sent her a wave. It was the first time it was safe, and they both felt free. Or at least freer than before. She enjoyed his messages while she recovered, because although they never spoke of the Academy, there was a deep-seated understanding between them, because they had both been through it. Been violated and stripped of control and dignity. Been burdened with secrets not their own. He understood. So when in the course of events they happened to be on the same planet at the same time, he asked her on a date. It was the third time they met. Looking back, River could see it all.

*~*

(about a year post-Miranda)

The Captain was being very protective of her, giving Wei the third degree as he stood at the foot of the cargo bay waiting to take River out on a date. Wei was a few inches shorter than Mal, gangly, but he stood confidently. His silk-black hair had grown in since River had last seen him, and it fell messily into his almond eyes. River couldn’t wait to speak to him again and she waited patiently on the catwalk for the Captain to summon her. Her first date of her new life, and now all she had to do was wait for the crew to scare him away. Simon had already warned and berated him, now Mal. Jayne just glared evilly from the corner, tapping his knife on his palm, nodding in agreement. As Mal spoke, Wei sneaked a peak at her and grinned shyly. She broke into a wan smile, glad he was not intimidated. But then, he was a reader too, and understood their intentions. Butterflies fluttering in her stomach, fireflies lighting her eyes, River glided down the stairs and stood next to Wei, indicating to Mal that it was time to let go. Mal wrinkled his nose, begrudgingly. “To the theater and back. Have her home by ten.” “Yes, sir,” Wei answered, then turned and followed River out of the ship. “And don’t let her out of your sight,” Mal called after them. Wei looked over his shoulder and waved, then glanced sheepishly at River. They walked side-by-side, the small distance between them alive with electricity. “It’s good to see you.” He gave a swai smile. River sighed as he said it, his thoughts perfectly in synch with his words, his mind open to her. She wasn’t sure if the joy she felt was his or her own – perhaps the pleasure was double because they shared it. “How have you been?” He shrugged, not speaking. His thoughts betrayed the words. They wanted him to talk about it – about what had happened at the Academy. He didn’t want to speak of it out loud, and she didn’t want to hear it with her ears, so she let it drop. Her recent life was no picnic either. Losing two ship-mates, fighting Reavers, being chased by an Alliance operative. Work was scarce now as the weakened Alliance struggled to maintain control and failed to reign in all the petty predators of the Black. River tried to slow her mind and not think of all these things, lest she overburden Wei. When she looked back, he grinned empathetically, and let the silence settle and sooth them. He led her on a round-about path into town, taking the river-walk, lined with gardens and streetlamps, heading for the bridge that crossed the river. He bought her a gelato at a small stand by the boardwalk and their walk lulled to a relaxed stroll once the dessert was in hand. “Do you remember the first river we crossed?” he asked with a smile. He knew such a memory would be a cloud for both of them. A remnant from a life long left behind. But River did remember that river. She remembered the current sweeping her feet out from under her and Wei firmly gripping her hand, pulling her to the surface. The first time he saved her life. “This time, we take the bridge,” she grinned, stealing the words from his lips. The bridge glowed blue, artificially lit to stand out from the city. The breeze picked up once they were over the water, whipping her skirt fiercely around her legs. She was briefly grateful that Inara had pinned her hair up for the date, but worried the do would not survive the trek to the theater. Their conversation ranged from the ultra-intellectual discussion of wind dynamics to the completely fluffy debate on whether bunny rabbits made good household pets. Having done her fair share of chores cleaning up after the crew of Serenity, River was not a fan of any animal she had to clean up after. When asked later, River could not recall the show she saw that evening. She just remembered the theater, decorated in burgundy and gold, the chairs packed in so tightly that her knees touched the row in front of her. There was music, but no dancing. And somewhere in the middle of the first act, Wei reached over and took her hand. River had flown Serenity for a year now, but she never understood flying until he took her hand, sweetly, tentatively, and the rest of the evening, she was hovering ten feet off the ground. After the show, he walked her home, taking the path by the river, the night so clear and the sea so calm that the stars reflected off the water. River knew she would never forget this night – the way his smile took her breath away, the way her hand felt enclosed by his. The way her feelings intensified when they synchronized with his. Simon stood at the back door of Serenity, watching for their return, angry because they were thirty minutes late. Wei noticed as well. While still a safe distance, he bid her goodnight and kissed her cheek lightly, then he walked her the rest of the way home, as her feet were no longer taking directions from her brain. Simon must have seen the stars in her eyes, because his expression softened and he nodded curtly at Wei before heading inside. “Will I see you tomorrow?” Wei asked, taking both of her hands in his. River shook her head sadly. “Tomorrow we leave for Beaumonde.” “What time?” “Ten AM, that leaves—” “Time for breakfast,” he smiled, finishing her sentence. “Let’s say seven?” With a bow, he kissed both of her hands and headed off. She watched him go, and when she couldn’t see him any longer, she looked to the stars in the sky, remembering their position. No other world had this sky, no other time. She would remember where she was the night she fell in love. When he was walking her home.

*~*

(ten years later)

River screamed, gasped, and vomited into the silver bowl in front of her. Should she survive this experience, she resolved to revise all the medical texts describing childbirth and replace the euphemistic terms with the cold, hard truth. The dehumanizing humiliation of having ten heads and cold instruments probing your nethers, the contractions that felt like a legion of Reavers pounding you with clubs. She’d sooner believe the biblical creation account than – “Noooooo!” she screamed again as the next contraction hit. Wei was far from here, shielding himself from the intense assault of psychic pain, unable to bear it with her without suffering similar physical symptoms. River wished now that she’d taken the option to have her baby on Serenity, far from all the other pained mothers. Joy, grief, agony, worry, concern… everything intensified as it came at her from all angles. She saw the needle and lost her head, tossing herself off the bed and crawling on the floor. Back in the Acadamy. Needle in the brain. Steal her mind, take her thoughts, swirl them around until she couldn’t see straight. Her legs protested weakly and she slid as she crawled through a pool of her own vomit. No more needles! Steal her mind! Escape the Academy! Help! “Bao bei.” Wei’s soothing voice broke through the flashback, bringing her to the present. He called her with mind and voice, brushing her hair from her face, and holding her until she could see straight. When had he returned? “We’re far from that place,” Wei assured, waiting to see the belief in her eyes before asking her to move. She gripped his hands tightly as the doctor gave her the epidural. The pain reduced from intense to manageable and this time, he didn’t leave. He refused to. Every time she flashed back to her torturous past, he took hold of her, pulling her to the present – just as he’d pulled her head above water the day they first met. River’s life became an alternate game of pushing and collapsing in exhaustion. Weep. Push. Collapse. Weep. Push. Vomit. Collapse. Finally, Wei cried out in delight. “River, look! We have a son!” With the last of her strength, she lifted her sweat-soaked head and peered down at the purple mass lying between her legs, looking so much like a side of turkey. The nurse cut the cord and swept him away for cleaning and aspirating. A short while later, the room was quiet. Wei had rinsed River’s face and body with a damp cloth, letting her feel clean for the first time since she’d gone into labor, and now he was sending waves to all the relatives with the news. Still in too much pain to stand, River turned her head to see the little crib her son slept in, his tiny little fists clutching the air. Ten fingers. Ten toes. Seven pounds, eight ounces. A nurse came in, checking in on River and the baby. “Can I hold him?” The nurse picked up the little boy and handed him to River. “Have you picked a name yet?” River shook her head, rocking and cooing at her son. “Let me ask my husband.” She lifted her head, cocking it at an odd angle. “What are you doing?” “Calling my husband.” “You want a phone or something?” A moment later, Wei entered, beaming at his wife, glad she was awake. The nurse raised an eyebrow shook her head. “Now that’s a gift,” the nurse commented. River couldn’t have felt more drab post-labor, but she loved how Wei’s knees went weak when he saw her, thinking he’d never seen her look more beautiful. “What shall we name him?” River asked, touching the baby’s nose as Wei scooted next to her on the pillow. He grinned and shrugged. “I thought after the dog, I wasn’t allowed to name things anymore.” She turned her sweet, brown eyes on him, and her stomach filled with butterflies when he took hold of her hand. If she closed her eyes, she could feel the cool night air on her face and see the stars just where they were that first night when he was walking her home.

*~*

(a good sixty-plus years of happy marriage later)

River hated the idea of assisted living facilities, but she knew her husband could no longer care for her and she could not bear to call her children back from the Black. They had researched hundreds of facilities on dozens of world, still concerned after being hood-winked by the false advertisements of the Academy so many years ago. The harsh drugs that countered all the evils wrought on her by the Academy had slowly taken toll on her body. Her limbs were frail; lucidity came and went as it pleased. Wei sat next to her on the couch in the lounge area, thumbing through the post, keeping her apprised on daily events. “Why would you name a dog ‘Spot’?” River interrupted as her mind wandered past that conundrum. “I didn’t name the dog ‘Spot’, I named him ‘1,3,7-Trimethylxanthine.’ It suited his color.” River squinted her eyes, remembering the coffee-colored canine. “Hypothetically,” she probed. Wei put down his paper. “Truthfully, this riddle has plagued me ever since the neighbor mentioned it.” In fact, the neighbor had mentioned it almost forty years ago, while the dog was still living, and while they were still neighbors. Though both the dog and the neighbor were long gone, the mystery remained. “It is completely counter-intuitive to name a creature for a characteristic the he does not possess. 1,3,7-Trimethylxanthine was hyperactive dog and of similar shade to most caffeinated beverages. Spot would have been a misnomer for a monochromatic canine.” “Do you wonder if the first dog named ‘Spot’ actually had spots?” “I keep searching the cortex and coming up empty on that one.” River fell silent again and pondered the conundrum. “Do you think we named our children well?” “You named them, bao bei. You named them perfectly.” River stretched and yawned, her aged joints protesting the movement and appreciating it just the same. The nurse would come for her soon telling her it was time to sleep. She craned her neck watching as the other residents made their way slowly down the hall to their rooms. “Come to bed?” River asked. Wei’s almond eyes reflected soft sympathy. “No, my love, I’m not staying here tonight.” River furrowed her brow, suddenly concerned that she had been hood-winked by the government and she was being taken away again. Waves of cool calmness from Wei washed over her. “I’m tending to the estate, remember. I’ll be back in a few weeks, then we won’t be apart again. I promise.” River remembered vaguely, but her heart still cried. She didn’t know if she could sleep without him by her side. He’d been there so long, he seemed more a part of her than her own limbs. He stood serenely, touched her cheek, then took her hand, helping her to stand up. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he walked her down the hall to her room, holding her hand, promising to stay with her until she fell asleep. The ceiling fans created a soft breeze, blowing wisps of hair around her face, circulating the cool, conditioned air. He kissed her wrinkled forehead and she looked up at his handsome face, his winsome smile stealing her breath, just as it had that first night. For just a moment, she was eighteen again. Despite her failing memory, she still held in her mind the reflection of the stars in the water, the butterflies in her stomach, and the way her heart soared the night she fell in love … when he was walking her home.

*~*