Sleep Tight....(6) PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK*

Mal kept thinking about River as he walked to his bunk. Grateful that the whole Miranda business was over and done with, he wondered whether or not it was starting to happen all over again. What did River mean when she said 'we’re all scared, scared of demons coming for us.' Was it a prediction? What exactly was she doin' in 'Nara's shuttle, anyway? What were they talkin' 'bout? Mal's mind kept whirling as he lay down on his bed.

"Inara," he whispered, as his eyes got heavy and then closed.

Images passed in his thoughts as he slept of all the people that were on the ship. How River and Simon became part of the crew. When Wash first boarded Serenity and how he gave Zoe the creeps, then to their wedding day - then to his death. How strong Zoe was and really the only one he truly relied on, if he relied on anyone at all. Jayne well, not much to say of Jayne. When lil' Kaylee fixed the engine and came on board after askin' her parents permission. Then Inara, the day he first met Inara, up to the day when she told him she didn't know if she wanted to get back to her civilized life. When he heard her say that, for the first time since the war, he had hope, even if it was to the smallest degree. Then everything went black, as if he were in the night sky, he woke to a familiar voice.

"You don't dream."

"Gorram it, River, your supposed to be asleep. Didn't I just take ya to Doc? What are ya doin' up?" asked Mal stirring up from his bed turning on the light, and saw River standing by the ladder. He noticed she looked a little out of it.

River looked down at her arm and showed Mal where Simon had put the needle, "I still can't sleep....scared. You don't dream."

"And?" said Mal not knowing what else to say.

"All you know is the sky.... to fly free....You have hopes but don't believe in them, that’s why you don’t dream." said River as she sat next to Mal on the bed.

"That's true. Ya know, Serenity is the only place you can be free." River started drifting to sleep. "River, ya probably should be gettin' to bed."

"I'm scared....I like it when you talk to me as a person and not as a...." River stopped as she tried to think of the right word, "moon-brain, crazy, gorram girl." she said finally with a different tone to her voice. After she said that Mal thought of how everyone, especially Jayne, wouldn't really call River, well, River.

"It's okay," River said, "Now you call me your lil' albatross....two by two....hands of blue...." River said as she lay down.

"River, what does that mean?" Mal asked, but when he got up to cover River, he found her asleep. Mal sat on a chair across from his bed and watched River sleep. "Poor kid." Mal thought of how River had so many mood swings and how she was only 17 years old, but could act like a 5 year old, but then could also act as a weapon. Although she did have her lucid periods and they seemed to last longer than before, which is a plus for everyone. If only the doc could finally find a way to help her, although Mal knew that she would never be the same, hell, he didn't think she would get better, but Simon needed his hopes. Mal scuffed as he thought of hope, and then thought of what River had said about him not believing in hopes.

"What for?" Mal asked in a whispered voice, "You only get let down in the end." He shifted his position in his chair, tryin' to get as comfortable as was physically possible, and covered himself.

"Night, River," Mal said as he shut off the light....