Explaining River

A/N: So this was harder to write than I thought it would be. But then all of my stories are giving me grief. I think it's the weather. Hot as Hellfire one day and then freezing the next. Pick a damn temperature already! Anyway…enjoy and lemme know what you think.

"That little bitty thing is Richard's girl?" Wash burst out as he entered the galley. "She's just a little bit!" He slid into a seat beside his wife and stared unashamedly at the small woman seated next to the muscular gun hand.

"She is full grown, though Cap'n and Man named Jayne call her ni zi," River retorted easily. She liked the pilot. His thoughts were soft and sharp at the same time.

"That's cuz you're tiny," Mal grinned at her. "An' I'm old enough to be yer pa…I think." She tilted her head with a sigh and nodded.

"She is little," Riddick chuckled around a mouthful of food. "But so's dynamite." He used one hand to brush his fingers through her hair.

"And the girl can be just as explosive," she nodded and rubbed at the scar on his shoulder hidden by his shirt. "Small of stature, big of brain," she grinned cockily.

"I'm Wash," Wash told her with a happy smile. "I'm the pilot. It's nice to finally meet you."

"River," she returned after she'd swallowed. "Richard's girl." She tilted her head at the blond man and smiled. "She would like to play dinosaurs with you. She likes to make them eat purplebellies."

Wash laughed in delight. "So do I," he confided. "I told Rick that you could be a dinosaur and it turns out…you are! Which one do you like best?"

"Husband," Zoe said with a hint of a smirk. "Let the child eat. Otherwise we'll never let her out of the boat dirtside on account of the wind that might blow her away."

Wash mimed zipping and locking his lips. "No talking from me. Silence is my new creed. You'll see I can be quiet."

River giggled, knowing that wouldn't last very long, then scooped up more of her food. Small conversations broke out. Simon, River and Riddick didn't partake in any of them. Simon was too busy glaring and River and Riddick were too busy eating. Riddick pushed his plate away first and stood. "Tea, my own?" He asked her.

She nodded and lifted her head to give him a smile. "She doesn't need any tea," Simon muttered. "She should have water. That won't react with anything in her system."

Richard mostly ignored him but did consider his words for a moment. Then he shrugged. River was the only one who knew exactly what they'd done to her and what other drugs the Academy had put into her. If the cryo drugs were safe then tea should be too. He poured them both mugs and then set hers on the table in front of her before retaking his seat at her side.

River slanted her brother a harsh look but didn't say anything. He didn't know that he was wrong and he was so angry that anything she said would be proof to him of her instability.

River finally pushed her plate away from her and sighed happily. She held her now steadier hand up to her face and grinned. "She feels much better. The girl thanks you," she told Mal cheerfully. "Food was good idea."

"River!" Simon said sharply. "It's time for you to go to the infirmary so that I can check you out." He half rose from his seat and beckoned for River to follow him with one hand. She only sighed and took a sip of her tea.

"No," Mal said with a hard edge. "It's time for someone to tell me what the Hell is going on," he paused and looked at River's tired face and the shadows under her eyes. "Except for the ni zi who can go to bed iffen she wants, everyone else is stayin' here."

River shrugged and then climbed into Richard's lap. She hooked her fingers around her mug of tea and dragged it with her. "She will stay," she said once she was settled. "They will be speaking of her and the girl will participate."

"Do you hear her?" Simon burst out. "There is something wrong with her and I have to figure out what it is and fix her!"

"The girl cannot be fixed," River said in a quiet painfilled voice.

"There's nothing wrong with her," Riddick burst out at the same time.

Mal slammed a hand down on the table. "Bi jweh," he shouted. "Alla you!" He waited until everyone was looking at him and then nodded and sat back down. "Now…most of us know Rick's side of this drama so we know River's…mostly. Doc…stop insisting on examining her and just tell us your story. We'll get to the rest when we get to it."

Simon glared at him but nodded eventually. He stood at the end of the table and stared at the wall. He had to tell them and then they would see that he was right. They would understand that he needed to protect his mei mei even from herself and the hundan that suddenly seemed attached to her.

Simon took in a deep breath. "I am very smart," he began.

"Is a boob," River interrupted. "Richard is smart. The girl is smart. Simon is boob." She gave him a sunny smile and took a sip of her tea.

Riddick chuckled and then shushed her quietly at Mal's hard look. "Shh, my own. Let him talk now."

"Just clarifying for the edification of all concerned," she retorted. "But she will subside…unless ge ge acts the boob."

Simon sighed in irritation. "I went to the best MedAcad on Osiris. Top three percent of my class," he continued. "Finished my internship in eight months. 'Gifted' is the term. I say this not to brag but to explain—"

River snorted but said nothing.

Simon shot her an aggravated look. "So when I tell you that my little sister makes me look like an idiot child, I want you to understand my full meaning."

"Know River's a genius," Mal interrupted this time. "Rick told us that a very long time ago."

"One of the first things he ever told us about her," Zoe concurred.

Wash got to his feet and lifted the tea pot. "Anyone for more?" He asked.

"Richard's girl would like some," River said and held her tea cup out. "Very good tea. Better than she can make and she is a genius."

Riddick lifted his mug as well. "And so very humble about it too," he commented.

River shrugged and sipped at her drink. "She must match her Furyan's arrogance. His is legendary."

Most of the table laughed at that and Simon cleared his throat to bring their attention back to him. "Arrogance aside…River was a gift." He smiled a little and River's lips curved at the memories in his head. "She could be such a brat…"

"Used to correct his homework and his textbooks," River told them. "They were wrong and she was right. She is always right…except when she isn't."

"An' when is that?" Mal asked with his lips slightly quirked.

River shrugged again. "Hasn't happened yet."

The crew laughed again and she grinned. Aside from Simon everyone on the ship seemed to be in fairly good moods. Their thoughts were quiet and content. She could feel the underlying thread of worry for the Sunshine but it wasn't overpowering. They trusted that she and the Riddick had fixed up the damage to the other girl and that was a gift to her. That they trusted her and were willing to include her was her own gift.

"There was a school," Simon said loudly over the chuckles still ringing through the galley.

"Know that part already," Zoe interrupted him this time. "Where you think them two met?" She used her cup to gesture to River and Riddick. "He was her partner and friend once they elevated her. Protected her as best he could."

"Her heart," River murmured. "Gave him her heart and received his in return. Protected each other. Helped each other. Taught each other." She shuddered and set her cup on the table. She pressed her side into Riddick's chest and her fingers slid up under the sleeve of his t-shirt to stroke the scar she'd given him. "Then they took her Warrior. Showed her images of his death. The girl could not feel him anymore. He was gone and she was alone. No more drums in her head. No more Warrior. Only silence. And madness. And vengeance. She swore to make them bleed."

Simon stared at her and she flinched away from him and buried her head in Riddick's shoulder. "Shh, I'm here," Riddick soothed her.

"He thinks she is mad, insane, feng li. His thoughts hurt," she murmured.

"You see?" Simon said in a burst of anger. "They did something to her. They hurt her and drove her insane. She says she hears voices. And she's violent. She speaks in riddles. I have to protect her. Even if it's from the insanity in her mind."

Riddick snorted derisively. "She ain't crazy," he refuted. "They made her a Reader."

Silence descended over the galley as everyone stared at the couple. "Readers are a myth," Simon said.

River whimpered and pressed even closer to Riddick. "Make them stop. They were happy and quiet. Make them stop, Richard. They are hurting her."

Riddick let go of her with one arm and slammed his hand on the table. "Shut it! Alla you! You're overwhelming her. Think a somethin' else. I'll rip out your brains and dance on them to make it quiet for her."

He could feel her immersing herself inside his mind in an effort to block out the others. He ignored their reactions and concentrated on her. The silky feel of her hair, the smoothness of her skin, the warmth of her body pressed tightly against his own. Slowly she relaxed and pulled out of his head.

"Sorry 'bout that, ni zi," Mal apologized when she'd lifted her head and bruised brown eyes met his. "Was just a shock is all. We'll figure out how to keep from hurting you."

River nodded. "She is…tired and wobbly. The drugs make it…loud."

"How did you get her out?" Zoe asked Simon. She figured that the easiest and fastest way to get River back on a semi even keel was to get the attention off of her. "Rick's been tryin' fer a year or more. But even with our help and the connections we all have we couldn't find a trace of her."

Simon sneered at the man holding his sister. "My resources were a bit more vast than yours are," he stated.

"Got lucky," River contested. "Was approached by the Underground. Men and women who knew what was happening. Families of subjects. Friends. Concerned politicians. Worked together to stop the…scientists and…Blue Sun. They were too few and too poor to do a lot but they told ge ge how to get Richard's girl out. Knew he was looking. Knew he could help. But he got her out and ran away."

Simon shrugged a bit, unconcerned. "Couldn't do much more. The government froze my accounts. And River was—is unstable. She needs me more than they ever could."

River snorted and shook her head. "Simon is boob. They will not let the Subject Tam go that easily."

"They're going to be hunting you," Mal stated more than asked.

"Yes," River admitted. "She…will leave if he wishes it." Riddick swallowed down his instant objection. "She would like to stay with Richard's family. They are…quiet…mostly. And they…she is a government trained psychic assassin. She could be useful. But…they will…the Subject Tam is their star attraction. The Silent Ones will hunt her and her Riddick when they know he is alive. We bring trouble to your door."

Mal glared at her. "Knew Rick was trouble when I hired him. Knew you would be when he told us about you. Never stopped us helpin' him look for you." He nodded to himself. "Better odds havin' you on our side and us on yours. Ain't kickin' a ni zi offa my boat."

River cocked her head at him. "Doesn't care that she could kill them with her brain?" She asked hesitantly.

Mal's face went blank and his brown eyes held a fire in them. "Would you?" He asked.

"She can't do that," Simon objected. "No matter what they did to her brain she cannot use it to kill people. She's…" He shook his head. "She's speaking nonsense again."

River ignored him. "No. Richard's girl can see inside the crew. Good people. Fair. Just. Good. Browncoats and Sunshine. She can abide."

"All right," Mal nodded easily. "So…what happened after they took Rick? Cuz…even the cryo drugs don't totally account for the differences between what he said about you and the reality."

River tilted her head as she listened to both his words and his thoughts. Mal wasn't really being nosy. He just wanted to know what to do to help her. He didn't think she was insane but he didn't figure she was completely sane either. "They took things out and they put things in. Secrets that don't belong. Secrets that are not hers but she carries the blood of them anyway. All have secrets. She does not share theirs. Families secrets belong to them. But the Silent Ones…and their keepers have secrets to tear the 'Verse and she holds them inside. Poke needles in her eyes and ask her what she sees." Tears welled inside her eyes. "But she is not strong enough." River turned her gaze away from Mal and down to her hands.

"Strong enough for what, sweetie?" Wash asked her in a quiet voice.

River's eyes flicked up to his and he drew in a sharp breath at the reflected pain in them. "To see the secrets they put inside her head. They are a canker in her brain. They leak out and drive her mad. One day the canker will burst and then…she will be truly insane. Bullet to the brainpan. Squish."

She flinched back against Richard's chest at the instant and loud denials from nearly everyone seated around her. Richard merely tightened his arms around her and buried his face in the skin of her neck. "You won't leave me," he told her. "Not ever."

Finally the uproar died down and Mal reached out a hand to lightly touch River's arm. "There won't be no bullets to no brainpans," he told her solemnly when she looked up at him. "We got our own assassin to keep you in line when you go sideways."

River scowled and ripped Richard's shirt from his shoulder. "She was startled and she stabbed him. She could kill him too." She pointed at the scar high on his shoulder.

Everyone blinked and then Zoe chuckled. "Well hell," she commented. "That ain't hardly fair, ni zi!" River turned her gaze to the woman. "I been wantin' to stab or shoot that jackass a time or two myself and I ain't never got to do it."

This brought chuckles from the rest of the crew and the Shepherd. "She's right, ni zi," Mal nodded. "We'll be here to protect him and he'll protect us. You go sideways and we'll jes sew ourselves right back up."

River finally giggled as she read their intentions as clearly as they stated them. "She thanks you. She will endeavor to make sure family stays in one piece."

"That'd be good," Mal nodded and stood. "Now it's gettin' late and we got us a mole to question."

"And Richard's girl is tired." River yawned and wrapped her arms around Riddick's neck. "They know the important things. Take her to bed, Furyan."

"Aw!" Mal groaned. "Don't be sayin' things like that in my galley, ni zi. I don' wanna know."

Richard shot him a grin as he toted River from the room.