OOC: LOG: 'This just gets more and more confusin'.'
Who: River Tam bitsandfluids and Malcolm Reynolds tightpants_cptn
When: Feb. 21st, 2519
Where: Serenity
What: River asks for permission to visit the past again, and Mal has a few things to say about it.
Why: Because River know's who's the daddy boss? :D
Note: LJ was giving me hell on this one with formatting, but I think I've fixed it now. >>;
"Captain?" River called out hesitantly, knocking on the door to his room. "It's me...permission to enter?" Hopefully he wasn't still upset with her for the Connor and Xander incident, (though she was still curious as to what a "bad touch" was).
Mal kicked the head back into place, tucked himself in, and washed his hands, "You can come in," he called, pushing the sink in and drying them off, tossing the towel onto a rail.
River pushed open the door, wandering inside and tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. "I was wondering if maybe....I could stay back then. With them. Not forever, but for longer than a few hours...Connor said I could use his room."
Mal just looked at her for a long moment. Then another long moment, just to be sure. This he capped off with a third long moment - better to be safe than sorry. "You want to leave Serenity."
"Just for a few days?" River amended, shaking her head. "I'm expendable, and I have boys back there. And family. Relatives, Captain. I'd like to get to know them all. With your permission."
"First off, none of this talking about being expendable, you're crew. That makes you all kinds of not expendable, or did all those times we come after you not count?" Mal asked, frowning.
River laughed. "You don't need me here. You have fighters, and someone else can co-pilot the ship. I know I'm still a part of it...the crew is my family too. You're my family. Simon is my family. But...I'm being pulled back there, and if I don't go the bits will separate when I don't want them to."
"Now, here you go talking about bits separating, when I'm not so sure you're ready for any bits being put together, River," Mal said, sitting down in a chair, kicking the other one out for her.
"That doesn't make any sense," River frowned, taking a seat on the offered chair. "Bits coming back together is good." At least, she thought it was.
Mal pinched the bridge of his nose. Hard. "Not.. Not... Not if the bits aren't quite ready, they aren't."
"...What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "How can the bits be ready or not ready?"
"See... this is why I ain't never gettin' married and ain't never had no kids," Mal muttered to himself, sitting back with a sigh.
"You're already a father anyway," River replied with a grin. "Even if you don't want to admit it."
Mal thought about it. "Still, not somethin’ I thought I'd have to be thinkin' about. Them boys is not good enough for you, River."
"If they're not, then who is? It's not like I have a lot of options out here. And besides, you don't know them like I do," she retorted.
"I'm not so sure I like you knowin' them like you do," Mal said, almost waving a finger and stopping himself. "River, it's a whole 'nother world back there, they're all primitive and the like. Don't have real sense of humanity like we do."
River laughed again. "Where do you think we got our sense of humanity from? Xander's fighting a war. He's a leader, even if he doesn't act like it most of the time. He's sweet and gentle, and sees things other people don't. Connor is different...he's not from there either. Son of two vampires, raised in hell and betrayed more than once...he's trying to put his pieces back together, too."
"Great, so you got one man you like who's practically on death row, and the other's unstable? I definitely don't like them odds, River."
"You're twisting my words," River replied, annoyed. "I felt like I belonged with them in the shiny moment, and I want to see them more. I want to meet Fred, too."
"Who's Fred?" Mal was derailed.
"Winifred Burkle," River explained. "My lots of greats grandmother."
"Lots of greats grandmother. This just gets more and more confusin'."
"I met Lorne already, my lots of greats grandfather~. He's an empath demon, and he read that we were related." River waited for the word 'demon' to set in.
Mal blinked.
It set in.
Mal blinked again. "Demon. Like, with horns and a pointy tail demon?"
River giggled. "Horns, yes. Pointy tail? I don't know, I didn't see one. He has green skin, red horns, and red eyes, and he can read people like I can. Except they have to sing for him first."
Mal nodded slowly. "Right...."
"You should meet him~. He's really nice. He even fixed my hand for me when I broke it," River chirped.
"Broke your hand...." Mal sighed. "Look, River... I... I know you want to go back and visit sometimes, but... maybe we should wait a little before you do it again, hm?"
"I didn't break it, break it. Just little pieces of glass from when I broke his bottle. Hands of blue followed me and they weren't supposed to," River elaborated, shaking her head. "Why?"
"Just want to keep you safe at home for a while," Mal said.
"Technically, I'm safer there than I am here," River pointed out. "I don't think the Alliance has time-traveling capabilities yet."
"The Alliance doesn't have boys wanting to do things to you, neither."
River snorted. "You would rather they cut into me and take out my bits than let me do what normal eighteen-year-old girls get to do all the time?"
"They're not going to get you and cut you up anymore, River, you know that."
"Don't know that," River said quietly. "Never know, hiding and sneaking in the corners and grabbing when you can't see..."
"Ain't nobody getting on Serenity can get through me, Zoe and Jayne," Mal told her. "He learned his lesson good."
"Not always on Serenity," River reminded him, curling up in her chair a bit. It was always a fear whenever she left the ship, but she never voiced it. She never told anyone about the nightmares, either. The ones that made it so she couldn't sleep.
Mal sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose again as he leaned back in his chair. "You can visit in a week."
He added, "I'd rather two, but at least one."
River jumped up and hugged him tightly, her eyes shining like she'd just gotten a present at Christmas. "Thank you~," she practically sang.
Mal patted her back, "Right... now I don't want to hear no nothing at all about goin’ any sooner'n a week from now, dong ma?"
“Dahng rahn~," River replied cheerfully. She could easily keep herself occupied with playing practical jokes for a week.
Mal suddenly thought that the next week was going to be very... interesting, and sighed. "Go, babble with the girls, shoo!"
"Yes Captain," River replied obediently, giving him a peck on the cheek before dancing out of the room.
When: Feb. 21st, 2519
Where: Serenity
What: River asks for permission to visit the past again, and Mal has a few things to say about it.
Why: Because River know's who's the daddy boss? :D
Note: LJ was giving me hell on this one with formatting, but I think I've fixed it now. >>;
"Captain?" River called out hesitantly, knocking on the door to his room. "It's me...permission to enter?" Hopefully he wasn't still upset with her for the Connor and Xander incident, (though she was still curious as to what a "bad touch" was).
Mal kicked the head back into place, tucked himself in, and washed his hands, "You can come in," he called, pushing the sink in and drying them off, tossing the towel onto a rail.
River pushed open the door, wandering inside and tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. "I was wondering if maybe....I could stay back then. With them. Not forever, but for longer than a few hours...Connor said I could use his room."
Mal just looked at her for a long moment. Then another long moment, just to be sure. This he capped off with a third long moment - better to be safe than sorry. "You want to leave Serenity."
"Just for a few days?" River amended, shaking her head. "I'm expendable, and I have boys back there. And family. Relatives, Captain. I'd like to get to know them all. With your permission."
"First off, none of this talking about being expendable, you're crew. That makes you all kinds of not expendable, or did all those times we come after you not count?" Mal asked, frowning.
River laughed. "You don't need me here. You have fighters, and someone else can co-pilot the ship. I know I'm still a part of it...the crew is my family too. You're my family. Simon is my family. But...I'm being pulled back there, and if I don't go the bits will separate when I don't want them to."
"Now, here you go talking about bits separating, when I'm not so sure you're ready for any bits being put together, River," Mal said, sitting down in a chair, kicking the other one out for her.
"That doesn't make any sense," River frowned, taking a seat on the offered chair. "Bits coming back together is good." At least, she thought it was.
Mal pinched the bridge of his nose. Hard. "Not.. Not... Not if the bits aren't quite ready, they aren't."
"...What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "How can the bits be ready or not ready?"
"See... this is why I ain't never gettin' married and ain't never had no kids," Mal muttered to himself, sitting back with a sigh.
"You're already a father anyway," River replied with a grin. "Even if you don't want to admit it."
Mal thought about it. "Still, not somethin’ I thought I'd have to be thinkin' about. Them boys is not good enough for you, River."
"If they're not, then who is? It's not like I have a lot of options out here. And besides, you don't know them like I do," she retorted.
"I'm not so sure I like you knowin' them like you do," Mal said, almost waving a finger and stopping himself. "River, it's a whole 'nother world back there, they're all primitive and the like. Don't have real sense of humanity like we do."
River laughed again. "Where do you think we got our sense of humanity from? Xander's fighting a war. He's a leader, even if he doesn't act like it most of the time. He's sweet and gentle, and sees things other people don't. Connor is different...he's not from there either. Son of two vampires, raised in hell and betrayed more than once...he's trying to put his pieces back together, too."
"Great, so you got one man you like who's practically on death row, and the other's unstable? I definitely don't like them odds, River."
"You're twisting my words," River replied, annoyed. "I felt like I belonged with them in the shiny moment, and I want to see them more. I want to meet Fred, too."
"Who's Fred?" Mal was derailed.
"Winifred Burkle," River explained. "My lots of greats grandmother."
"Lots of greats grandmother. This just gets more and more confusin'."
"I met Lorne already, my lots of greats grandfather~. He's an empath demon, and he read that we were related." River waited for the word 'demon' to set in.
Mal blinked.
It set in.
Mal blinked again. "Demon. Like, with horns and a pointy tail demon?"
River giggled. "Horns, yes. Pointy tail? I don't know, I didn't see one. He has green skin, red horns, and red eyes, and he can read people like I can. Except they have to sing for him first."
Mal nodded slowly. "Right...."
"You should meet him~. He's really nice. He even fixed my hand for me when I broke it," River chirped.
"Broke your hand...." Mal sighed. "Look, River... I... I know you want to go back and visit sometimes, but... maybe we should wait a little before you do it again, hm?"
"I didn't break it, break it. Just little pieces of glass from when I broke his bottle. Hands of blue followed me and they weren't supposed to," River elaborated, shaking her head. "Why?"
"Just want to keep you safe at home for a while," Mal said.
"Technically, I'm safer there than I am here," River pointed out. "I don't think the Alliance has time-traveling capabilities yet."
"The Alliance doesn't have boys wanting to do things to you, neither."
River snorted. "You would rather they cut into me and take out my bits than let me do what normal eighteen-year-old girls get to do all the time?"
"They're not going to get you and cut you up anymore, River, you know that."
"Don't know that," River said quietly. "Never know, hiding and sneaking in the corners and grabbing when you can't see..."
"Ain't nobody getting on Serenity can get through me, Zoe and Jayne," Mal told her. "He learned his lesson good."
"Not always on Serenity," River reminded him, curling up in her chair a bit. It was always a fear whenever she left the ship, but she never voiced it. She never told anyone about the nightmares, either. The ones that made it so she couldn't sleep.
Mal sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose again as he leaned back in his chair. "You can visit in a week."
He added, "I'd rather two, but at least one."
River jumped up and hugged him tightly, her eyes shining like she'd just gotten a present at Christmas. "Thank you~," she practically sang.
Mal patted her back, "Right... now I don't want to hear no nothing at all about goin’ any sooner'n a week from now, dong ma?"
“Dahng rahn~," River replied cheerfully. She could easily keep herself occupied with playing practical jokes for a week.
Mal suddenly thought that the next week was going to be very... interesting, and sighed. "Go, babble with the girls, shoo!"
"Yes Captain," River replied obediently, giving him a peck on the cheek before dancing out of the room.