She went back to the bed and sat on the edge and started to look intently at the shuttle’s hatch, her gun in her hands. ’Course the traps were there still, but River’d told her where to walk to avoid them, in case Kaylee needed to get out. She could go outside. Of course, she wouldn’t know where River was to look for her, but still…

Time seemed to pass slow and quick at the same time. So she wasn’t really sure how long it was until a sudden, soft noise caused her to startle a little and get to her feet. The shuttle was supposed to be sound-proofed, but, since the crash, it wasn’t no more – wouldn’t be again unless repairs were made to the hull.

There were more sounds then, sounds that definitely didn’t belong to the forest outside. Not that there had been many forest sounds coming in that evenin’, just a soft wind in the trees sound. It was like all the animals knew something truely dangerous was coming, and they’d all been sensible and went t’hole up somewheres ’til it was over.

She bit her lip a little, clenched her fists, said somethin’ her mother wouldn’na approved of in Chinese, marched across the cabin, and pressed the button to open the hatch.

The light from the sunset came in on the breeze right along with the sounds of fighting.

Kaylee’s nerves were more on edge than she could ever remember them being. She knew this was stupid, knew she was prob’ly more’n likely gonna get herself killed, but it didn’t matter, because for the life of her, she couldn’ think of anything else to do but go out there. River might need her help.

It was strange, like her actions weren’t even really her own. She knew that as soon as the hatch was down, she’d run out there. She knew it – she couldn’t even remember havin’ decided she was going to do it, but she was going to. Was just a fact.

The hatch hadn’t hit dirt yet when she saw River out there, surrounded by Reavers, men an’ women all a horror, and her feet were moving, gaining speed. The hatch hit dirt, and suddenly River turned and their eyes met and River was moving right at her, so fast, and she could swear there wasn’t even the sound of her feet on the deck plating. Then River’s arm caught her around the middle, twirled her around somehow and, faster than she could really understand how it happened, she found herself bein’ carried, gentle feeling as a feather, in River’s arms just like that, the other girl hardly having seemed to even break stride in the doin’ of it. Kaylee only had time for the brief thought of [how in the heck did she do that?].