PART 1:

They were marooned. Mal remembered that much right off the bat – literally. Consciousness found him flat on his back with Zoë cradling his concussed head (damn baseball bat!) while Jayne shouted obscenities at Serenity’s silhouette disappearing into the sunrise. Immediately concerned for his crew, Mal pushed up to his elbows, ignoring the stars exploding behind his eyes. Inara and Kaylee watched him hopefully; Simon struggled to keep pace with a ranting Jayne who was bleeding from the shoulder; River sat tucked on a rock, her chin resting on her knees. Fortunately, she wore her boots today, but in general the group was not prepared for the weather on Perth this time of year. “Report,” Mal grunted. Zoë clasped his hand, pulling him to sitting. She looked relatively unscathed considering. “Just the clothes on our backs, sir,” she answered quietly. “I’ve been left with less,” Mal commented, though he was not encouraged by the memory. “Where’s the nearest town?” “Hard to tell in this light.” “I’m sure that was the point.” “If there is a city nearby, it’s east of us. Thought I saw it just before the sun peeked. There’s a wooded valley between us, but I’m sure we could walk it in a day or two.” Mal stood as quickly as his pulsing head allowed. “Let’s get walking, then.” “Captain,” Simon began, coming toward him, cloaked in his doctorly confidence. He must have been in the middle of something in the Infirmary when the attack started because he still wore a white apron over his clothes. “Son, ain’t nothing you can do but look me over and say I’m not dead,” Mal dismissed, then raised his voice to address the others. “Let’s move.”

*~*

Inara, Kaylee, Simon, and River walked shoulder to shoulder as much as possible, but still shivered whenever an icy breeze came through. Simon had wrapped his apron around River’s bare shoulders. Mal led them between the trees, looking for the smoothest possible path. Zoë scouted ahead, making sure they kept direction while Jayne prowled in zig-zags seeking water, food, or anything else that might be useful. Unfortunately, it was winter and most of the plants were dead. Mal blinked, disheartened. Even his eyelids felt cold. Kaylee had tried to cheer their journey with a walking song and River had joined her briefly. Simon seemed too distracted and tense with worry to sing and Inara just kept her eyes downcast and walked gingerly. By mid-afternoon, they were too parched and hungry for talking. “Mal,” Jayne called, emerging from the woods and trotting toward the group. “There’s a dried stream bed starting about half a mile into the woods back that way. If we follow the bed a ways, maybehaps we’ll find a fistful of water.” “A water source is a good start to civilization,” Mal agreed, then raised his voice and summoned Zoë back to the group. “Couldn’t hurt,” she answered when he suggested the detour. “We should be careful not to go too deep into the valley. We need to have enough height come nightfall to check for city glow and get our bearings.” “We’ll find a way.”

*~*

The rocky bed had dried for the season and Mal began to worry. It was nightfall before the spring water moistened the rocks even a little, and the moon was nearly set before the water pooled deep enough to drink. When the water reached a steady ankle-depth, Mal decided it was time to set down for the night. Days on Perth were short, but he hadn’t given his crew a break. He appreciated that none of them had complained about the long journey. It took about twenty minutes to find a spot that didn’t look frequented by large carnivores (though they hadn’t seen more than a few birds all day). “You sure this is the spot?” Kaylee asked, her eyes begging for rest, her body trembling. As soon as Mal nodded, she collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, laid flat on her back, and threw one arm over her eyes. It broke Mal’s heart to see the weariness shaking through her body. Simon knelt by the stream, taking a quick sip of water, before gathering some for River. The girl was both shivering and sweating, her body wound tighter than a new watch. She clutched the white apron around her shoulders, drinking from Simon’s hands. Mal immediately saw the reason behind it – Simon didn’t want the icy water to steal any more warmth from her body than was required to keep her hydrated. River curled as much of her body under her dress as possible, closing her eyes and rocking slightly. Simon tried to massage her shoulders, but she shrugged him off. Inara knelt gracefully near the stream and cupped her hands, shivering as the icy water touched her fingers. She didn’t drink much, probably because it only made her colder to do so. Jayne disappeared into the woods at the call of nature and Zoë took to gathering twigs and branches in preparation for a fire. It would be a difficult decision – making the fire. He had to balance their need for warmth and their need to not be found building fires by the wrong people. Mal started arranging the sticks as soon as Zoë dumped them on the ground, more for something to do than anything else. He had no matches, no flint, and no gunpowder. Survival gear always included one such item, as fortuitous lightning strikes had a well known liberal bias. Jayne returned and sat near him and Zoë. Inara joined the circle. Despite there not being an actual fire, they still gathered around the collection of branches and brush as if there was warmth to be had. “Kaylee?” Mal called, noticing she hadn’t moved. She moaned tiredly and Simon rushed to her side with a handful of water. “Bao bei,” he whispered, cradling her head, “you should drink.” Kaylee groaned and brushed his hand away, splashing the water onto the ground. Simon went stiff, moving to check Kaylee’s pupil response, but Kaylee caught his hand tenderly and pulled him toward her. Softly, she kissed him, coaxing his lips with her tongue until he relaxed into it, looking for all the worlds like she didn’t remember she was lying, freezing, and marooned on Perth. Mal could see the stress melting out of Simon as he kissed Kaylee and he relaxed a little too. When he looked around he caught sheepish smiles blushing across Inara’s and Zoë’s faces and an approving leer from Jayne. Kaylee peeked one eye open to look at River and Mal followed her gaze. The tension had almost completely melted out of River as well. It was then Mal realized that Kaylee knew exactly what she was doing.

*~*

Part 2