This body's a Temple, not a Wonderland.

[nevermarried]

It had been too damn long. Though Book appreciated the time to himself to meditate and pray, to walk on the island and meet new folk, he realized he was feeling downright sluggish. He had started going for long runs along the beach, pushing his body to its limit. He was getting up there in years, but he made sure he was still fit as a fiddle. It

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[crazyspacegirl]

"Ni hao," said River cheerfully when she saw Book.

River was still so glad to have Shepherd Book alive and well and with them again that she smiled every time she saw him.

Today was no exception, as she came back to the ship from her own run, tired-out dog right behind her. Simon Chicago went directly to his blanket and flopped down, panting, but River wasn't quite finished yet. She didn't have much use for lifting weights herself, but she had been using the large barbell on its stand as a makeshift barre, since it was about the right height and the best she could do. She didn't think anyone would mind, though Jayne hadn't caught her at it yet and he might have something to say about it.

[nevermarried]

River's appearance was a bit surprising, though thankfully it didn't distract him from his pull ups. He finished up his set and dropped to the floor, slapping his palms together and catching his breath. "Whew. Ni hao, bao bei."

[crazyspacegirl]

River worried only slightly about the Shepherd overexerting himself. He wasn't young, but she trusted that he knew what he could handle. At least he wasn't dead.

"Are you having a nice workout?" she asked, slowly raising one leg up as high as she could.

[nevermarried]

Book watched her at the bar, smiling fondly. "Why, yes, I am." He stretched out a bit before digging around for a couple free weights to do bicep curls. He had planned on doing a few presses, but it appeared River had other ideas for the bar. "Your form is beautiful, River. Keeping up with your dancing?" He smiled fondly. She was a beautiful, honest, and real dancer. He loved, loved, to watch her dance. It made him feel alive in a way that little else did.

[crazyspacegirl]

"Thank you. I am. I didn't for a while, but I am now. I really missed it, even when it scared me." River didn't think she had to explain much about why to the Shepherd, who knew what she was capable of even if he hadn't seen it himself. "It feels good, to have this part of myself belong to me again."

[nevermarried]

Book wasn't quite sure what River meant; it was one of her oddities that he appreciated. She explained herself when she saw fit, and sometimes you didn't get the whole story. The thing was, he was pretty good at filling in the blanks. "Well, sometimes it's just something we need to deal with on our own." He wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about, but it sounded like she had come to terms with whatever it was, and that she was happy again. "I'm so glad you dance."

[crazyspacegirl]

"I'm glad, too. Mostly because it's fun, but also because everyone ought to have something they feel like they're good at. I'm a really good dancer." She wasn't being boastful about it, only confident. She knew she was talented not because people told her she was, but because she could feel it in herself when she danced.

[nevermarried]

He grinned as he finished his set with the free weights, setting them lightly down. "You are, River." He smiled broadly, wiping his head clean of sweat. "You're an excellent dancer." He watched her stretching and practicing, smiling fondly. "You beautiful when you dance not only because you are very good at it, but because you are dancing from the heart." He lay a sweaty, heavy hand over his heart.

[crazyspacegirl]

"I think everything ought to be done from the heart," said River thoughtfully. "Otherwise, what's the point?"

[nevermarried]

His smile widened. "You're very right, bao bei." She was, more than many people he knew, a deeply spiritual person. He looked to her in many ways for spiritual cues, for guidance on how to reach people. She had a pure and real heart.

[crazyspacegirl]

River would have been surprised to know that the shepherd considered her spiritual at all, when she had pretty much decided that she didn't want to believe in a God that would let such horrible things happen to her, and would let things like those she knew Mal had seen and lived through in the name of war.

"I just think that things ought to matter to a person, or there's not much reason to be doing them," she explained. "Especially here, where we have a gift of time. Some still waste it, but I don't want to waste anything. I missed enough, because of the Alliance. Here, I can have everything I never thought I'd have, and I appreciate it."

[nevermarried]

He listened to her talk, opening her heart. She was always honest and open, but this was different-- it was more important, more real, somehow. "We have all the time in the world, honey." He was quiet a moment. "After thinking I was dying, this is a second life for me. You're very right. A lot of people do things that don't matter to them, in the name of someone else or something else."

[crazyspacegirl]

"I hope so," said River, stopping her stretching for the moment. She didn't much like to remember the shepherd dying, but she supposed that she couldn't be glad to have him alive if she didn't know what it had been like to lose him.

"I don't want to be selfish, even though I can't help it sometimes. I try to to things that matter to other people, too, but most of the time it's all I can do to make myself happy. Maybe everyone has to start somewhere."

[nevermarried]

He nodded, grinning. "Gotta start somewhere, and happiness is a good place to start." He chuckled. "You're not selfish, River. A lot of selfish people do things that seem generous, but only for their own gain. You look out for yourself, and for the people you love." He raised his eyebrows at her, smiling warmly. "That's true generosity."