[Powers]

[plntfood]

When he wakes that morning, nothing seems out of the ordinary. His pillow is pushed up against the wall and he's sleeping on his arms instead, but that's nothing unusual. Sam is already awake, playing with her crayons on the floor of his bedroom and he rolls to the side, resting his head on his hand, smiling down at her

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[crazyspacegirl]

The island seemed to be having a weird day, but the residents of Serenity seemed to have remained as they should be, and River was determined that she and Zoe were going to try to have a normal day, which meant letting Mal out of her sight for at least a little while.

Mathias and Samantha were their first stop. It was clear that the island hadn't left them alone, but she wasn't sure what was going on, exactly.

"Did you remodel?"

[plntfood]

With a huff of laughter, Mathias leans his forehead on his arm, glad to hear River's voice. From behind him, he can hear Sam running over to them and he straightens and turns, looking at her with a faintly amused smile.

It isn't funny, though, but it's better than frowning at them.

"Mathias makes things rocks!" Sam announces, before he can say anything and he nods, holding up his hands for River to see, though there's nothing different about them. "I've been turning things into stone," he tells her.

[crazyspacegirl]

"Rocks!" exclaimed Zoe, though she could not possibly have grasped exactly what Mathias' trouble was. She just liked the sound of the word, and Sam's enthusiasm in saying it.

"Why?" River asked, though she knew well enough that these island things rarely made much sense.

[plntfood]

"I wish I knew," Mathias answers, letting out another long sigh. "I'm not even sure the door will open again now that I've somehow managed to turn it into stone." He has to touch things. It's impossible to live and not touch things, but he still doesn't know what will happen if he touches a living thing.

"I woke up on a stone pillow," he tells her. "But how is your day?"

[crazyspacegirl]

"Better than that, so far." Sympathy and amusement fought for dominance in River's voice. She was glad to have been spared this particular island nonsense when it was messing with her enough already.

"Mal came back," said, finding easier to just state the fact. She knew Mathias would understand what that meant to her.

[plntfood]

Mathias wants to come forward and touch River; her arm, her hand, but he still doesn't know what that might do. Instead, he smiles and steps closer, looking at her for a long moment. It's good news, it really is, but at the same time, he knows the hard truth. Mal won't know his daughter, won't remember his time with River.

"I'm very glad to hear that," he says, one hand lifting and then falling again. "I would hug you, but I'm afraid he might kill me if I turn you to stone."

[crazyspacegirl]

"You know, I think he really might, if you did." She didn't want anyone to hurt Mathias, but she wasn't going to pretend she didn't like having the Captain around to be protective of her again. "He doesn't remember, of course, being here. Nothing about... her."

She glanced at Zoe, trying to escape her stroller to play with Sam, and went over to free her.

"He knows me, at least. It's not the same, but he knows who I am. I think he's still trying to wrap his head around the fact that I'm not still seventeen. I'm a lot different now than I was fromwhat he he remembers being just a few days ago."

[plntfood]

"Zoe," Sam says seriously when the other little girl is free. "Mathias makes things rocks today, so don't touch him, okay?"

Smiling faintly, he looks back to River. "It must be very difficult for him. And for you." Probably more difficult for River, who had to carry all the memories without the same memories being mirrored in him. At one point, they had been married, had a happy family, and now he has no memory of that. He'd like to meet Mal, but he'll give them time to settle before he wanders over to Serenity uninvited.

[crazyspacegirl]

Zoe looked at Sam with her eyes wide and an extremely solemn expression on her face. "'kay."

"It's nice to have him around again. And weird. Nice but mostly weird." She was still trying to work it all out in her head, how she ought to feel and how she did feel and how Mal and Zoe might feel. "It's hard. I have to keep reminding myself not to be mad at him for not remembering things. It isn't his fault."

[plntfood]

"No, it isn't," Mathias agrees, but he can understand why River might be upset anyway. At least Mal knows her, even if he doesn't remember anything that happened on the island. Should Veronica ever return, she'll have no idea who he is and as he has no idea how he caused her to fall in love with him the first time, he isn't sure he'd be able to do it again.

"How is Zoe taking it?" he asks. "How much does she understand?"

[crazyspacegirl]

"I don't know if she remembers anything about him. I've always shown her pictures and told her who he was, but she's so young. I can't tell if she understands how he's the same person from the photographs. Veronica made sure we had a lot, you know. I wish I could thank her for them again."

River was thinking along the same lines as Mathias, about how Veronica wouldn't know her at all if she came back. She hoped they'd be friends again, even so.

"I think they're going to get along all right, though. I hope they like each other."

[plntfood]

"I doubt anyone could dislike Zoe," Mathias points out with a fond smile. Though he may not say it often, he suspects River knows how important she and her daughter are to him. He might not be the most vocal person, but he's still very affectionate in his way.

"And if you love him, I'm sure Zoe will as well," he continues.

[crazyspacegirl]

River didn't need people telling her that they cared about her. Actions did all the speaking, she thought, and Mathias' were always very clear to her.

"Zoe is very likable." Zoe was currently engaged in kissing each of the dogs in turn; when she got to the end, she started with the first one again. She was currently trying to hold the long-suffering Taser still enough to plant one on her nose. Watching it made River smile, but Mathias' next comment almost made it fade.

"Me loving him is the problem, though. He doesn't even really understand why I would. He still thinks I'm that same girl who brought worlds of trouble on him. Maybe I still am." She sighed, and tried not to dwell. "But at least I haven't turned anything to stone yet."

[plntfood]

Mathias smiles slightly at that, a little pained for River, but he knows she can take care of herself. And he knows that having Mal here, whether or not he's in love with her again just yet, is better than not having him here at all. Mathias is confident, too, that he'll fall for her all over again.

"You do have that much going for you," he agrees with a sigh, holding his hands up again before he drops them. "I can't even dress myself today." And if he asks for help, he's afraid of turning someone into stone by accident, afraid of harming them permanently. That's the last thing he wants.

[crazyspacegirl]

"At least it's not cold." River still had it in her to look at the bright side of things. "And at least you don't seem to be a danger to yourself. It could be much worse."

Her natural curiosity led her to consider Mathias' predicament in more detail.

"What about plants and flowers? Maybe living things are okay. You could test it on a plant, and then maybe a bug, if the plant's okay?"

[plntfood]

Mathias hesitates, but River has the right idea and he knows it. If this lasts longer than a few hours, he's going to be in trouble when it comes to Sam, as he can't expect Lucy to do everything and he can't not touch the little girl when he's putting her to bed or helping her get changed.

"That's a good place to start," he says, then crouches down by one of the small flowers outside his hut. Sam pauses to watch, rushing over, but still keeping the dogs behind her.

The flower stays a flower, no change at all, and he looks at River. "So far so good."