“River, honey? What are you doing?” Inara called from the catwalk. She exchanged a worried glance with Mal, coming to greet her as her shuttle docked, and the two of them hurried to the main floor of the cargo bay.

River was sitting next to Jayne's weight bench, staring blindly into space as Jayne sweat through his daily workout. Only when Mal loomed into her line of vision did she blink and come back to herself.

“Somethin' wrong, Albatross?” Mal asked, pitching his voice low. Though River had been noticeably more coherent in the long months since the Miranda broadcast, helping the crew of Serenity to escape more than one deal gone wrong, she still had her off days. Since they had seen her only that morning, bursting into seemingly-random tears at the breakfast table, this unsupervised, eerie silence was somewhat unsettling.

River's lips curled into a private smile. “Too much heat this morning, Captain. Two by two they proceed, down the aisle and under the sheets – the girl was washed away in flame. It is cool inside the man's head, though, and the river ceases to steam.”

Again Inara and Mal exchanged wary looks, causing River to roll her eyes. Before she could attempt another explanation, Jayne settled the weight-bar back into place and interrupted. “Too much sexin', Mal. That's all. Four o' you musta overloaded her somethin' fierce; stronger the feelin', harder it is to keep out.”

Inara blushed from her hairline to the low-cut neck of her dress, and Mal shuffled embarrassed feet. “That what the problem was, little Albatross?”

River nodded, shifting her eyes away from his discomfited gaze.

Inara opened her mouth once, twice, before speaking. “River? What did you mean, that it's cool inside Jayne's head?”

River cocked an eyebrow at Inara, smirking slightly. “No sex.” Her smile faded. “Too sad inside of Zoe, and she likes her privacy. The man does not mind the intrusion.”

“Now wait here,” Mal snapped. “You mean to be tellin' me that you've been hangin' out in the mind of my mercenary? That's no place for a girl to go wanderin'.” Jayne scowled, but they all ignored him.

Using her shoulders and her feet, River levered herself upright and began rolling the kinks out of her neck. “Not inside your mercenary, Captain. Dangerous in there. She was inside of Jayne.”

“Same thing, and I don't want you -” Mal was cut off by Jayne's scornful snort.

“You think I can't keep my mind fit for a little browsin'?”

Mal looked the merc over and scoffed. “Honestly, I don't.”

“The man has practice,” River stated, eyes wandering as she focused on thoughts rather than physicality.

Inara raised an eyebrow. “Practice?” It was Jayne's turn for some uncomfortable foot-shuffling of his own. “Had a sister, 'nough younger that my head weren't no place for her to go playin'. All us kids got so we had a safe place – Ma told us to make our heads into a comp'ny room and sweep the bad stuff under the rug.”

River grinned. “And then Matty used that as an excuse when your mother caught him doing the same thing in the parlor.”

Jayne grimaced, but his eyes twinkled. “She gave 'im one helluva hidin'.”

Mal's jaw was dangling around his gunbelt. Inara noticed and snapped her own mouth shut.

“You got a reader for a sister?” Mal asked, flabbergasted.

“Had,” Jayne clarified, jaw suddenly tight.

“And you never saw fit to mention this?” Mal rode right over his correction.

Jayne shrugged. “Clara weren't crazy none, so I couldn't tell 'til y'all did. Never seemed to matter much, after that.”

Zoe, who had followed the Captain when he didn't reappear, spoke from the bottom of the stairs. “Thought you weren't too happy to find out she could read you, though.”

“Not 'cause she's a reader, Zo. 'Cause she's a reader.”

“Explain,” Mal demanded.

“Gorramit, Mal, when'd this turn inna the inquisition?”

Mal just fixed steely eyes on his merc and repeated himself. “Explain.”

“Was afraid. All of you were.” River sank back, again supporting herself against the bulkhead. “Girl wasn't rational, wasn't sensible, wasn't safe. Reading made you nervous – what would she find out? What secrets would she tell? The man hides his secrets; only worried for his calm.”

“His calm?” Zoe asked, exchanging a look with Inara.

“His Serenity.” She rolled his eyes at Mal's quick inhalation of breath. “Tried to sell her when she wasn't a threat – learned what made the 'I' into a 'she' and just wanted her gone. Too many trackers, too many dangers. The girl worried him more when she showed she could fight, so take away the guns so he can put her down from a distance. Then the girl was a reader, and he started to understand. When the screams stopped and the weapon became a girl, he wasn't scared for his Serenity anymore. Scared now that she'll be Clara on the cross and no angels will come from the sky.”

Mal and Inara were taking their time to parse River's code, but Zoe had spent hours talking about Wash with the girl – the only member of the crew to see beneath the garish shirts the way she had – and learned a bit about the way she worded things. Between her familiarity with River's modes of speech and Jayne's averted gaze, she understood. Zoe swallowed and touched Mal's arm.

“She's our witch, Sir.”

She watched, River watched, Jayne watched as Mal processed that. The words rang familiar, somehow, and he strained for it... The blood dropped straight to his gut and clotted there when he remembered.

Inara still looked confused. “Mal? I don't understand.”

River cocked her head and reached out a steady hand to grasp Inara's flailing one. “The witch knew the story of the girl with no tongue, and the tiny scared people wanted to make her part of the sky. But then the big damn heroes stole the witch and her bothersome brother before the oven was ready, and nobody breathed the witch that day.”

“You mean when you...” Inara cut herself off, but River nodded. “And his...?” Again, River nodded, her hand tightening around Inara's.

“We done here?” Jayne asked, quieter than Mal was used to hearing.

Mal only nodded, and watched the strained muscles of his mercenary's back as he left.