Again and as always, the Verse of which I write belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and whoever else is on the contract. It is heaps of fun visiting.

I will aplogize for the growing length of this fic. I am writing the story as it reads in my head. I have to make the journey to reach the end.

The small group of refugees trotted through the trees dotting the slope of a hill to the southwest of the little town. Inara wore unfamiliar clothes of homespun and roughly hand-sewn cloth. She held an oversized coat closely about her. Carl had set Willem in the lead with Jana. The boy knew the way and was sure of his footing. Phillip and Suze Reston followed closely, with their toddler, Jeff, in a makeshift sling on his father’s chest. The child was sleeping peacefully. Inara, Mal and Carl were together in the rear. Everyone carried a bundle of food tied up in a blanket and slung across shoulders, leaving their hands free. They also carried side arms or rifles.

“How much longer till sunset, Carl?

“Less ‘n half hour, maybe, but we got second moon risin’ soon after and third moon not far behind. You don’t need no lights to be out and about most of the night.”

“That’s gonna be a help and a hindrance. How long will it take us to get to this hideout?”

“It’s two, two and a half miles up in the hills. The terrain ain’t the easiest. I reckon less ‘n two hours, if we don’t stop.”

“We’re gonna have to move faster. We gotta be well away from anywhere near here before they land.”

“Yeah.” Carl glanced at Mal. “I’ll catch up to the young’uns and pick up the pace a bit.” He caught up to them and took his daughter’s hand, moving a little faster.

Mal almost whispered to Inara, who had, so far, been silent. “Knew you wanted to leave, but I’m thinkin’ you mighta picked a better time and place.”

She glanced up at his face, breathing heavy from the unfamiliar exertion. “Mal, I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s done. Can’t go back and change it.”

They traveled in silence for a while, climbing higher and higher. Trees and hills obscured the town and the landing area. Everyone searched the sky from time to time. Phillip waved his hand skyward.

“Oughtn’t they have been here by now?”

“They may have gone after Serenity. Couldn’t have missed her leaving atmo.” Mal glanced towards the flight path his ship had taken.

Inara touched his arm. “I’m sure they got away.”

“Yeah. Wash had time to get the ship away, but there’s no tellin’ what Zoe might have tried to give us a little more time.” He worked to keep his voice even.

Inara looked up at him and spoke softly. “Mal, I didn’t think walking in to town with Jana was a problem. She didn’t want to…”

Before she could finish, they heard the whine of a ship high in the sky and descending fast. They listened as it made one large circle above as it came in to land. The sound of its engines was louder and deeper than Serenity’s. Without a word, everyone started to run, instinctively trying to keep under the cover of the trees. As they crested the hill, the noise grew to a deafening level. Most of the group paused to look back. Mal, pulling Inara along by the arm, almost ran into them.

“Don’t stop!” His shout could not be heard over the noise of the landing ship, so he pushed them. “Run!”

Clutching child, packs and weapons, everyone ran down the other side. Carl led the way, staying on as straight a line to safety as possible while keeping under the cover of the trees. All too quickly, they heard a tremendous crashing sound and the ground heaved as ship met land. The stressed engines faded to a hum, then silenced.

The sun was setting in front of them, creating quickly lengthening shadows that worried Mal. Cover was becoming sparse, making them more visible to anyone looking this way. He called as quietly as he could to Carl to stop in what looked like the last sizeable clump of scraggly trees. They had run as fast as they could for more than a mile further up into the hills, carrying heavy loads, so a minute’s rest was welcome, especially for Inara and Mal, who were more used to the regulated atmosphere and confined life on a small ship. His breathing was heavy, creating puffs of steam in the cold air, but he was a little grateful to see they were all out of breath.

“We can’t stay out in the open. Reavers’ll be curious where everyone got to. They’ll be lookin’ until dark, and maybe after. If we’re lucky, they’ll pick up and leave, but I doubt it. They’re probably hungry. Can’t think of any other reason to land here.” Mal didn’t mention he thought the landing had been very heavy. “How long before moonrise?”

Phillip, gasping for air, spoke first. “Thirty minutes. Gonna be hard to pick through the gullies until then.”

They heard gunshots coming from the direction of the tiny town. Suze Reston turned toward her home. She gave a quiet cry at the thought of it being destroyed by the raiders that had come to her world. Like all who lived here, she had little enough, but it was hers.

“My Grandma’s dishes.” Tears rolled down her cheeks and she put her hand to her mouth. Her husband crooked his arm around her and whispered in her ear. She nodded and patted his hand. Then, she kissed her son, who was wide-eyed at the wild ride he’d woken up to. She wiped her eyes with a sleeve and turned away from the town.

Carl passed around a water skin. “We can keep out of sight, but it’ll take longer to get there. And, we won’t be able to see ‘em if they do find our trail.”

Mal stared back in the final light after the sun disappeared. He saw the orange glow of fire where the town would be. “Let me worry about that. Looks like they’re busy for the time bein’. We best get movin’ again. Quiet-like, though. We’re miles away now and can hear them plain. So, be careful.”

He took a mouthful of water and handed the skin back as they began to walk again. Then, seeing she was in more distress than the others, he lifted the water skin from Inara’s shoulder and looped on his own. “Can’t show no fire, no light of any kind. If you got somethin’ shiny, hide it. Any reflection or light will draw them like moths to flame. Same goes for daytime. Reflected sunlight or smoke can be seen for miles.”

*****

Kaylee ran up the stairs from below to the bridge, anger and frustration in her eyes and voice. She glared at Zoe and Wash, ignoring Simon and Book, who were standing near the hatch opposite her. “Why didn’t we use the shuttle?”

Zoe stood near the console next to Wash. “There wasn’t enough time to launch and recover. And, the clearing in town wasn’t big enough for even the shuttle to land in. Cap’n knew that before he left the ship with Browning. We didn’t know for sure where Inara and the kids were, and there was the other couple. Best thing to do was give the Reavers the impression we’d taken everyone with us. They might lose interest faster.”

“We gotta go back now. Reavers could’ve already gone.” She was not giving up.

“No. Too many civilians on board. Reavers are likely to be more than a little upset that no one was there.” She could see this line wasn’t getting anywhere with the mechanic. “Kaylee, I want nothing more than to go back and find them. But, we can’t. Serenity has no arms or armor. We can’t outrun ‘em, either. There’s too many folk on board that know nothin’ about fightin’ these creatures. Hell, we don’t know how to fight ‘em. We’ll go back as soon as we can. Mal and Mr. Browning will see ‘em all safe.”

“What about other folk on Harmony? Can’t we ask them to help?” Her voice was desperate.

This time Book answered. “I asked about that, Kaylee. There’s no one else on Harmony that can help. They were all but wiped out by a sickness some time back. These folk were spared because they were isolated from the rest.”

Kaylee now looked at Simon with pleading eyes. Simon shrugged in defeat. The Shepherd shook his head. “Zoe’s right, Kaylee. They’ll be okay.”

The young mechanic glared at all of them, and then stomped back down the stairs.

Book sat in the co-pilot’s chair. “She knows you’re right. It was a hard decision, but the right one.”

“I know, Preacher. Why does it feel so wrong?” She leaned on the edge of the console and frowned quizzically at Simon. “Kinda surprised to see you here, Doctor. Where’s your sister?”

He dragged his eyes from the empty stairs. “Asleep in her room. Oh, and I put Mrs. Browning and her son in my room, and I’ll sleep in with River. They needed to get away from the others. The boy is frantic, thinking it’s his fault. Says he should have stopped his sister from going back to town. I gave him something to help him sleep. They also just needed to get away from the crowd, said everyone was being too kind, for want of a better word.”

Zoe shook her head and put her hand in the one offered by Wash.

Book leaned back and crossed his arms on his chest. “It does feel a bit crowded. I haven’t been on Serenity long, but I have gotten used to the lack of the unwashed masses. It’s easy to find solitude, even on such a small ship.”

Wash pointed to an image on a monitor he’d been studying. “Looks like the Reaver ship wasn’t the one chased us a while back. Same kind, a TransU, but not the same one. Mighta been a later model. Do Reavers all go to the same used ship lot? Is it in their handbook or something?” He wrote in the air. “Page five, we highly recommend…Ow!”

He covered his head when his wife clipped his ear in mock anger. “Not much feelin’ like humor right now, dearest. What about the passengers?”

“Sorry. Just tryin’ to, you know, break the tension.” He caught her hand and squeezed it.

The Shepherd shrugged. “Doing about as well as you’d expect. They are frightened and stunned, but they’re also tough. From the looks of them, hardship is nothing new. We do need to think about food, and other necessities. I know we’ll be on Fairfield in only two days, but we aren’t stocked for this many mouths. We’ll have to get supplies there for the time it’ll take to come back and then return.”

Wash tapped a gauge. “And, we’ll have to worry about getting to a fuel station somewhere in there. We can get to Fairfield and back to Harmony, but not back to Fairfield and then to a station.”

“We haven’t sent a wave to Marcus and Katie, yet. They’ll put supplies together for us, I’m sure. We’ll do that in the morning. I’m sure Adel will want to be there.” Zoe squeezed her husband’s shoulder. “Has anyone seen Jayne?”

“He was up here earlier, checking to see if the Reavers were following us. When he was satisfied they weren’t, he mumbled something about his bunk and left.” The pilot feigned a hurt look. “I don’t think he trusts my flying expertise.”

Simon’s thoughts were still on the people they had to leave behind. He cleared his throat. “What do you think their chances are?”

Zoe stared out the window for a moment. “They have about a fifteen, twenty percent chance, I reckon. Like I said earlier, Mal’s been through some of the most bloody, vicious fighting ever. He’s one of the best guerrilla fighters I ever saw. It’ll depend on the others and if they follow his orders. If they do, the chances improve a little.”

“Twenty percent?” Wash sat up.

“It’s better’n I’d give anyone else. I’ve seen what Reavers do. They’ll hunt you for days if they have a mind to. I’m just hoping they think we got everyone off.”

They all looked out at the black for a long time before Book and Simon left Zoe and Wash alone on the bridge.

*****

The climb up the rocky slope was difficult in the dark. No one spoke. Even the child had been lulled back to sleep by the rocking pace his Father maintained. He had made small noises for a short time that worried all of them, then, to their relief he drifted off. The group occasionally caught the sound of gunfire and the glow of flames from the town as they wound through and up the hills. The first moon rose and illuminated the landscape in a weak glow. It wasn’t until the second moon came over the horizon that there was enough light to clearly see the way. That meant, though, that they could also be seen now.

After a while, they were out of sight of the town and landing area. Carl slowed to a stop and motioned they needed to climb over some large boulders. He beckoned Willem closer and they whispered briefly. Willem shed his bundle and weapon, and scrambled over the boulders. At Carl’s signal, they all shed bundles and weapons. Willem leaned down and took Jana’s hand to pull her up, her Father helping with a boost from below. Mal and Carl helped Phillip up the rock face. Then their son was passed up, now awake and happily chewing on a piece of jerky. His Mother went up next.

Mal pulled Carl aside for a moment. They squatted, talking in whispers, as Mal took a hunk of bread and some jerky from a bundle, stuffing them into the inner pockets of his coat. He transferred the rest of the provisions into the other makeshift packs. Carl gestured up the hillside a few times, then back towards town. They stood, and Carl passed up the packs and water skins. Mal slung the smallest water skin over one shoulder, and, rolling a blanket to tie over the other shoulder, turned to Inara.

She tried to read his face, which was partially in shadow as he bowed his head to whisper in her ear. “Go with Carl and help him. I’ll be back soon.”

Inara grabbed his arm, fear rising in her. “Where are you going?”

“Just to see what our new friends are up to, and if any of ‘em are followin’ us.” He put his free hand on her shoulder and leaned closer to her ear. “Don’t worry. You’ll be safe up there.”

“I’m worried about you. What if they find you?”

“Inara, they won’t. I’m very good at this kind of thing.” He cocked his head slightly to see her face, but stayed close enough for her to feel his warm breath on her cheek.

“Mal. This isn’t funny.” Her hand tightened on his arm.

“I know.” He straightened a little and she saw the corner of his mouth turn up. He tried to guide her towards Carl’s waiting hands, but she wouldn’t move.

“Mal, please. Xiâoxin.” She let go of his arm and pulled the glove from one hand, she reached up to touch his cheek. He tilted his head into her hand and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he covered her hand with his own, pulled it down and pushed the transceiver into it.

“Hold onto this for me. We’ll need it when the kids get back with our ride outta here.” She looked down at the transceiver, then up at him. He suddenly cupped his hand under her chin and lightly kissed her lips. “Now, come on, let’s get you up there.”

Before she could do anything, he gently pushed her toward Carl. When they were close enough, he spoke just loud enough for both hear. “No one leaves unless you’re in danger. No lights, no fires, no sound. I’ll come back tomorrow night or the night after, when it’s dark.”

When they both started to protest, he held up his hand. “Can’t risk them seeing any movement at all. If they leave, I’ll come up sooner. But, you stay put until I get back or Serenity lands and gives the all clear. If you hear gunfire, stay put. I’ll lead ‘em south if they do come this way, which I doubt. You don’t move unless you’re in immediate danger. I don’t need to be worryin’ about y’all if I’m busy. Dong ma?” They both nodded. It took only a moment to boost them over the boulder, and then he was gone.

*****

Zoe and Book had just finished talking to the passengers again and were entering the kitchen. The Shepherd looked around, noting that, except for a coat or two, there was little evidence of them. The whole group seemed to need to stay close to each other in the cargo bay. Few of them had ever been in a spaceship before. He shook his head. “These folks are gonna need to start all over again. There’ll be nothing left for them on Harmony.”

“Miss Zoe?” They stopped and turned to see Donal, who seemed to have become the spokesperson. He was nervously crushing and smoothing a battered hat in his hands. His voice, though, was clear and firm. “We’ve discovered one of our folk is missing. Uh, other than those we know was left behind, that is, Ma’am.”

“Please, call me Zoe. Who is it?”

“Seth, Seth Brier. Bit of crazy, but harmless. Reckon he slipped away in the confusion of getting all of us on board. I know he was with us to see Adel off.”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“You can’t send a message to your Captain over that little thing he had?” Donal touched his ear.

Zoe and Book frowned for a moment. Then, she realized what he meant. “The transceiver? No, we were out of range a minute or two after liftoff. I’m sorry.”

Donal sighed and nodded his head. “That’s what I thought, Miss Zoe. Had to ask, though. Seth’s a tough one. Maybe he found Carl and the others, and is safe with them.”

“I hope so.” They sat at the table. “Is everything else okay?”

“Yeah, thanks fer comin’ to talk to us. We’ll try to keep outta yer way.” He paused. “Everyone’s scared. Not just fer themselves, but their homes and few belongings. It’s all we had.”

“We sent a wave to the Alliance. They don’t admit Reaver’s exist, though, so there’s not much hope of getting any help from ‘em.” Zoe stood up again. “I’ll be on the bridge for a while. Might be time to get your folk to turn in for the night, Donal. Shepherd, would you mind…”

Book finished the thought, seeing the strain in her face and her need to leave. “I’ll help find blankets and such. We’ll sort out rations, too. Good thing we waited to unload the oranges Marcus sent.”

“Thanks.” She left the two men sitting alone.

*****

On his own, Mal could move much faster. He pushed aside his concern for Inara, Serenity and everyone else. In the moonlight, he was able to see the entire landscape, but was well aware that same moonlight made him visible, too. The distance made detection unlikely, but there was no use taking stupid risks. He quickly retraced their ascent, erasing any evidence of their passing. There was what looked like a riverbed further to the south. There wasn’t much water in it, but it might be handy if he needed to lead any nosy parties away from the others.

On the way up, he spotted a couple of possible vantage points. Now, he checked them to make sure they were hidden, but would still have a good view. He settled on a spot that allowed him to see the burning remnants of the town and most of the ship on the landing area Serenity had so recently occupied. There was a small overhang and a steep rock face below. It would be in shadow as soon as the sun or moons reached their zenith. Though the countryside lay open in front of him, the climb up to him would be dangerously exposed. Mal had come a long way back toward town, he didn’t want to be easy to catch.

He studied the countryside for movement and saw none outside the area around the ship and town. Once satisfied that no one was showing interest, he turned his attention to the ship itself. Wash said it could be the one they ran from on Whitefall. He didn’t think so. The configuration was similar, but not quite the same. The angle of magnetic grappler was wrong and there were other differences. He couldn’t tell much more, though, in the moonlight.

This was going to be a long vigil, so he pulled the blanket around himself and settled into a not too comfortable position. Falling asleep would be a decidedly bad idea. He hoped he still had the knack of napping with one eye open. During the war, Mal and Zoe learned to go for several days without real sleep, catching only moments here and there. He needed to do that again, at least until the Reavers left this God-forsaken rock.

*****

Simon quietly opened the door to his sister’s room. River was as he left her, on one side and curled slightly. There was something vaguely unsettling about how easily she had drifted off. After the panic of the afternoon, he thought he would need to sedate her. Just the opposite happened, though. She had been so quiet, staring off into nothing until she closed her eyes and slept.

A noise behind him made him turn. Adel was peeking out of the doorway to his room. Simon could just see her son sleeping on the bed. “Is everything okay, Doctor?”

“Yes, just checking on my sister. How is Ethan?” Simon closed the River’s door and moved across to her.

“Poor lad. He’s sleeping. Thank you for the medicine. He blames himself, you know. But, it’s not his fault, and how was he to know, anyways?” Tears came to her eyes and he began to worry that she would break down and cry. Instead, she dabbed her nose with a tattered kerchief and smiled.

“You should try to get some sleep yourself. I know it’s difficult, but please try.” He spoke softly so that he would not wake either his sister or her son.

She patted his arm. “Thank you for your kindness. I’m not ready for sleep, Doctor. Tonight, I will pray for them we left behind, my family and friends, and your Captain and the young lady.”

“I’ll be back soon if you need anything.” They closed the door and Simon headed to find Kaylee.

He found her in the engine room, sitting on the floor with a piece of machinery in pieces in front of her. She glanced up as he came in. “What do you want?”

“Kaylee, don’t be angry. We had to leave. The Captain said to. He knew what he was doing.”

“I know that!” She bit her lip and took a deep breath. “I know, Simon. I know we had to go. I know all that. But, it’s wrong to just leave them.”

He pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her. “They’ll be alright, Kaylee. They will.”

She leaned into him, and after a long time she sniffled. “How do you know? How can you know?”

Simon looked around and spotted a place to sit. He steered Kaylee to it, and they sat, his arm around her shoulders. “You’ve heard the stories. Zoe isn’t one to exaggerate, and Mal, well, you’ve heard what he says, too. I think it would’ve been easier for Zoe to leave all of us behind than it was for her to leave Mal today.”

“She seemed so cold about it. She didn’t hesitate.” Kaylee rested her head on his shoulder.

“It cost Zoe a lot, bao bei. She didn’t hesitate because he didn’t. I think Mal knew something might happen and warned Zoe.”

“Whadaya mean, he knew?” She pulled back a little and frowned at him.

He took a deep breath. “Last night. My God, was it just last night? Well, late last night, something woke me up and I came out of my room to check on River. Before I could open her door, Mal came around the corner carrying her. She apparently woke up, went for a walk and found him on the bridge. He said they talked for a while and she fell asleep.”

“But, how did he know?”

“Let me finish. He wouldn’t say what they talked about, but this morning, River kept saying we shouldn’t stay, that we needed to leave. She wouldn’t open her door or talk to me. Then, Mal walks up, she lets him in, they talk about focusing and telling him or me if she thinks something is going to happen. Then, he says to me that if she says anything to let him know immediately.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know what he was expecting. Anyway, just as he’s leaving, she runs to the door and shouts at him to run. He doesn’t even look back, but shouts ‘promise’ back at her. This was right after we landed.” He saw the disbelief in her eyes and shrugged. “I’m not sure, but after what happened with Early, I think the Captain may be right.”

“You mean what he said about River bein’ able to…to…that she’s a reader? Oh, wow. Shiny.” She leaned against him again.

*****

Willem unerringly led the way to the cave that would be their home for the next five days. Without speaking, they looked around the small, dark cavern and unpacked. They set watches, Carl and Phillip splitting the first night. The others settled themselves to try to sleep, knowing that it would not come easily.

Inara stood next to Carl just outside the cave entrance. They both had blankets wrapped around their shoulders against the cold. The boulder they had scrambled over was just visible through a space in the rocks, along with some of the path that led up in this direction. They could watch the way up without being seen. Inara thought to herself, they were right, this place was well hidden. The little group had to climb over other boulders and squeeze through a couple of tight places where hill and rock almost met to get here.

She leaned over to him and whispered, “Is there another way out?”

He nodded and pointed to a small crevice. It looked like a dead end, but she took his word for it. She was amazed that anyone found the cave.

They stood in silence for a while. Inara watched the moons slowly pass overhead. The first disappeared from view over the hilltop. She touched her face where his breath had brushed her skin, and then closed her eyes as she remembered his lips on hers. She was jolted from her revere when Carl laid his hand on her shoulder.

“He’ll be fine, Miss Inara. Seems to know what he’s about, an’ if he survived that God-awful war, he’ll know how to keep away from them Reavers. You should go and try to sleep some. Been a long day fer us all.”

She nodded and re-entered the cave. This was beyond anything she had ever experienced. It was a long time before she slept.