Interesting you recall a line in Zoe's drabble about Wash being her ruby. By that, that makes Wash her innocence. It makes me wonder just who or what represents the gems of the other characters.

Oh, I think they do miss these things, perhaps deep in the night when River is examining them, when they dream of earlier times when things weren't quite so hard ... Lovely stuff.

Oh this was lovely!! Jayne's loyalty...very nice.

Sorry for not commenting on these individually, but I couldn't stop reading them. They are very very good, and have wonderful insights into the characters and the deeper meanings of their motivations. Thanks so much for sharing these.

Yes! This is River all over and covered with our beloved super genius' favourite dessert topping!

;)

No...really, this drabble totally captures both River's developed to avoid attaching feelings to things and people because the Academy and its backers have shown quite the talent of being able to steal away all kinds of things precious to her. The addition of River packratting away things like Mal's pre-war compassion or Jayne's loyalty to someone other than himself is definitely something River would focus on, because they're things that the Blue Hands wouldn't touch because they're things that each person doesn't seem to have any more...except each element is buried deeply :D