Thank You Stories
A Firefly/Sandman crossover and a Firefly/Sandman in camp scenario. Short one-shots. First one's for River. Second one's for Simon. With hearts and love and thanks and cookies.
River tiptoed gracefully through the corridors of Serenity, bare feet tingling with the vibration of the panels.
“Where are you going, little one?” the captain asked her as she drifted by.
“She’s following her fish,” River said, eyes focused to a point somewhere beside Mal’s shoulder. “It knows where to go.”
“Well. That’s surely the answer I was looking for,” Mal muttered, mostly to himself, as River continued her slow, precise steps across the ship.
“He’s. Um. A good man. Isn’t he?” Delirium looked uncertainly at River.
Del’s hair was long and wild, orange and pink and green. A small shoal of perfect, purple fish trailed in front of her, swimming against the slightly stale air.
“He keeps us safe,” River replied, holding her hands out to the fish and smiling as they darted through her fingers. “He has to. He doesn’t remember how to forget.”
“Oh. I knew someone like that, once. I think I did. He was. Um. A little scary sometimes. But he was my friend. He said so. He said he liked me. Because. Um.”
Delirium hugged herself tightly, pulling the light in around her body like a blanket.
“He was my big brother. He really was.”
River nodded, solemnly. “They’re helpful. A single thought process can’t exist without making connections. Interdependency. Like a circle of hands, holding.”
Endless eyes met human. A secret was exchanged.
Kaylee was nearly knocked over when River burst laughing into the cargo hold.
“Whoah,” she said, smiling at the girl’s playful mood. “Careful you don’t ‘splode the whole ship with your dancin’.”
“We won’t!” River giggled, flinging her arms forward.
Kaylee watched in amazement as River leaned back, and farther back, spinning around and around with ever-increasing speed. It was almost frightening how the girl could balance without anything but air holding her up.
“Whee!” Delirium squealed as she and River spun, kept from falling by the tension of their clasped arms.
“Did you have a good day?” Simon asked as he tucked River into bed.
He smoothed the hair back from her face with a smile both loving and sad. River nodded at him.
“Made a friend,” she said, wishing she could take it back as his forehead creased.
“A good day,” she reiterated. “Danced. The chaos was friendly today. Stayed up and talked.”
Simon’s smile returned, hesitant and awed, but there.
“Goodnight, Mei-Mei,” he said.
As he turned out the light, he thought he saw someone out of the corner of his eye, a girl no older than River, standing by the door in a halo of color. He was not surprised when he turned and no one was there.
The man at the hospital door was thin and tall and very pale, with a shock of inky hair and eyes like fast-approaching stars in the black. He said nothing, but watched Simon intently.
“Excuse me,” said Simon, when the silence became ominous. “Did you need something?”
“It is possible,” said the stranger. Or was he a stranger? He seemed very familiar, although Simon couldn’t place him.
“Is it… something I can help you with?” Simon tried again.
“No. I do not think so. I am here to observe, for the time being. Please carry on.”
“Actually, I was about to leave. I should check on River.”
“I see. Then I will accompany you.”
It was his voice, like a dark echo, that stopped Simon from arguing.
They went to see River. She slept, deeply but uneasily, murmuring to the night, flexing her fingers.
“Shh, Mei-Mei,” Simon said, stroking her forehead. She stilled.
“She dreams of the house where you were born. She walks through it, alone, looking for something she’s never seen. But all the doors open onto fields of sky,” the pale stranger said, behind him.
“I’m sorry?”
He looked up, but the stranger was gone.
That night, Simon dreamed that the camp had been overrun by chibis of the companion to whom he’d lost his virginity. He tried to talk to one of them, but its face distorted into that of a reaver and he fell backwards, into the lake. It was warm and comforting and much easier to breathe than the air. He looked up and saw the bottom of the lake. The tentacle monster waved at him lazily, upside down. Looking down, he saw the blue sky, forever away beneath his feet, and he was falling, falling up, accelerating away from the earth with terrifying speed.
It was the stranger from the hospital who caught him before he reached the ozone layer.
“My youngest sister has asked that I grant you a favor, Simon,” he said. “She has requested that I grant you a boon.”
“Um. Thank you?” Simon tried to make sense of the situation. Chibis. Falling up. “Are you - I apologize if this seems rude - are you a dream?”
“Yes,” said the stranger. “Yes. I am Dream, of the Endless.”
“Oh. I mean. Uh…”
“I believe you have had the pleasure of meeting my sister, the Lady Delirium.”
“Uh. Yes. Sir.”
“She has befriended your sibling. It is on her behalf that I am doing this.”
“Can you make River better? Can you make her like she was before the academy? I mean, I’m trying to take care of her, but the extent of the damage that’s been done is so great, I hardly know where to begin sometimes. Neural surgery isn’t even my specialty. Can you do that? Can you give me back my little sister?”
Dream looked at him, considering. When he spoke again, it was in tones of regret.
“I cannot do that, Simon Tam. I, too, know what it is like to feel as though one has lost a sister through… unfortunate changes. But I cannot take back what has already been done.”
The earth rotated, far above them, and Simon fell into it as the words echoed through his mind:
“Instead, I will give you this. It is a point of view, Simon. A third option. Your sister is growing into herself again. She is no longer a child. It is acceptable for her to take care of you. Remember this, Simon. Build a relationship, not a dependency. I believe you will find this helpful in the future.”
And then he woke up.
River tiptoed gracefully through the corridors of Serenity, bare feet tingling with the vibration of the panels.
“Where are you going, little one?” the captain asked her as she drifted by.
“She’s following her fish,” River said, eyes focused to a point somewhere beside Mal’s shoulder. “It knows where to go.”
“Well. That’s surely the answer I was looking for,” Mal muttered, mostly to himself, as River continued her slow, precise steps across the ship.
“He’s. Um. A good man. Isn’t he?” Delirium looked uncertainly at River.
Del’s hair was long and wild, orange and pink and green. A small shoal of perfect, purple fish trailed in front of her, swimming against the slightly stale air.
“He keeps us safe,” River replied, holding her hands out to the fish and smiling as they darted through her fingers. “He has to. He doesn’t remember how to forget.”
“Oh. I knew someone like that, once. I think I did. He was. Um. A little scary sometimes. But he was my friend. He said so. He said he liked me. Because. Um.”
Delirium hugged herself tightly, pulling the light in around her body like a blanket.
“He was my big brother. He really was.”
River nodded, solemnly. “They’re helpful. A single thought process can’t exist without making connections. Interdependency. Like a circle of hands, holding.”
Endless eyes met human. A secret was exchanged.
Kaylee was nearly knocked over when River burst laughing into the cargo hold.
“Whoah,” she said, smiling at the girl’s playful mood. “Careful you don’t ‘splode the whole ship with your dancin’.”
“We won’t!” River giggled, flinging her arms forward.
Kaylee watched in amazement as River leaned back, and farther back, spinning around and around with ever-increasing speed. It was almost frightening how the girl could balance without anything but air holding her up.
“Whee!” Delirium squealed as she and River spun, kept from falling by the tension of their clasped arms.
“Did you have a good day?” Simon asked as he tucked River into bed.
He smoothed the hair back from her face with a smile both loving and sad. River nodded at him.
“Made a friend,” she said, wishing she could take it back as his forehead creased.
“A good day,” she reiterated. “Danced. The chaos was friendly today. Stayed up and talked.”
Simon’s smile returned, hesitant and awed, but there.
“Goodnight, Mei-Mei,” he said.
As he turned out the light, he thought he saw someone out of the corner of his eye, a girl no older than River, standing by the door in a halo of color. He was not surprised when he turned and no one was there.
The man at the hospital door was thin and tall and very pale, with a shock of inky hair and eyes like fast-approaching stars in the black. He said nothing, but watched Simon intently.
“Excuse me,” said Simon, when the silence became ominous. “Did you need something?”
“It is possible,” said the stranger. Or was he a stranger? He seemed very familiar, although Simon couldn’t place him.
“Is it… something I can help you with?” Simon tried again.
“No. I do not think so. I am here to observe, for the time being. Please carry on.”
“Actually, I was about to leave. I should check on River.”
“I see. Then I will accompany you.”
It was his voice, like a dark echo, that stopped Simon from arguing.
They went to see River. She slept, deeply but uneasily, murmuring to the night, flexing her fingers.
“Shh, Mei-Mei,” Simon said, stroking her forehead. She stilled.
“She dreams of the house where you were born. She walks through it, alone, looking for something she’s never seen. But all the doors open onto fields of sky,” the pale stranger said, behind him.
“I’m sorry?”
He looked up, but the stranger was gone.
That night, Simon dreamed that the camp had been overrun by chibis of the companion to whom he’d lost his virginity. He tried to talk to one of them, but its face distorted into that of a reaver and he fell backwards, into the lake. It was warm and comforting and much easier to breathe than the air. He looked up and saw the bottom of the lake. The tentacle monster waved at him lazily, upside down. Looking down, he saw the blue sky, forever away beneath his feet, and he was falling, falling up, accelerating away from the earth with terrifying speed.
It was the stranger from the hospital who caught him before he reached the ozone layer.
“My youngest sister has asked that I grant you a favor, Simon,” he said. “She has requested that I grant you a boon.”
“Um. Thank you?” Simon tried to make sense of the situation. Chibis. Falling up. “Are you - I apologize if this seems rude - are you a dream?”
“Yes,” said the stranger. “Yes. I am Dream, of the Endless.”
“Oh. I mean. Uh…”
“I believe you have had the pleasure of meeting my sister, the Lady Delirium.”
“Uh. Yes. Sir.”
“She has befriended your sibling. It is on her behalf that I am doing this.”
“Can you make River better? Can you make her like she was before the academy? I mean, I’m trying to take care of her, but the extent of the damage that’s been done is so great, I hardly know where to begin sometimes. Neural surgery isn’t even my specialty. Can you do that? Can you give me back my little sister?”
Dream looked at him, considering. When he spoke again, it was in tones of regret.
“I cannot do that, Simon Tam. I, too, know what it is like to feel as though one has lost a sister through… unfortunate changes. But I cannot take back what has already been done.”
The earth rotated, far above them, and Simon fell into it as the words echoed through his mind:
“Instead, I will give you this. It is a point of view, Simon. A third option. Your sister is growing into herself again. She is no longer a child. It is acceptable for her to take care of you. Remember this, Simon. Build a relationship, not a dependency. I believe you will find this helpful in the future.”
And then he woke up.