Safe
“Little soul, big world,” River observes, tilting her head toward the cattle. “Eat, sleep, and eat. Many souls.”
“Cattle on the ship three weeks, she don’t go near ‘em,” Mal shakes his head. “Suddenly we’re on Jiangyin, and she’s got a driving need to commune with the beasts.”
River stands and shakes her head. “They weren’t cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot. Now they see sky, and they remember what they are.”
Mal pauses. “Is it bad that what she said made perfect sense to me?”
Harri laughs and leans against Jayne where they’re perched atop the makeshift corral. “Made sense to me too.”
Harri pecks Jayne on the cheek and trails along when Simon takes River into town. She feels a little bad that Simon’s worry amuses her. She winces when he loses his temper on Kaylee, but lets him dig his hole as she keeps an eye on River. The girl meanders through the streets. It seems aimless, but Harri’s fairly certain the girl’s simply following a call Harri herself can’t hear. She’s proven right when they come upon the dancing square in the meadow.
Harri makes her way to Simon’s side when he catches up, twining her arm through his silently. River watches the dancers for the space of about a minute before picking up the steps and joining in. It’s the happiest she’s ever seen the girl. Simon genuinely smiling doesn’t hurt things either.
Harri feels the shot to the Shepherd’s chest at the same moment River’s steps falter and she freezes. The damn hillfolk grab them before Harri can even think to turn back to the ship. Harri considers intervening when River comes back. Especially after Serenity takes off. But Harri knows more than she can let on. She decides to let it play out. Jayne will come back for her.
“You’re not going to question why I’m not saving us?” Harri asks when River takes her hand as they enter the village.
River shakes her head. “There’s sick here. They need him.”
River is proven right mere moments later, and Harri settles into the corner with her while Simon sets to work.
River has a heartbreakingly lucid moment later that night. Her proclamation of, “You found me broken,” echoes through her mind long after, and Harri regrets more than ever that she didn’t take the time to learn more about mind healing back when she had the chance. Religious fanatics is less of a surprise than it should be.
Harri barely holds back a scoff at Doralee’s quotation of, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!” but Harri isn’t about to let them burn an innocent girl at the stake. She steps up on the platform with River when Simon does, shields and a number of nasty curses at her fingertips when River says, “Time to go,” and Serenity appears in the sky above them, Jayne hanging out the hatch, gun in hand.
“Well look at this,” Mal calls, strides into the square. “Appears we got here just in the nick of time. What does that make us?”
“Big damn heroes, sir,” Zoë answers, gun held steady.
Mal swings his own gun off his shoulder. “Ain’t we just? Sory to interrupt, folks. Ya’ll got something that belongs to us and we’d like it back.”
“This is a holy cleansing!” The magistrate argues. “You cannot think to thwart God’s will.”
“Ya’ll see the man hanging out of the spaceship with really big gun?” Mal asks as he and Zoë back toward them. “I’m not sayin’ you weren’t easy to find, but it was kinda out of our way and he dodn’t wanna come in the first place. Man’s lookin’ to kill some folk. So really, it’s his will ya’ll should worry about thwarting.”
Harri barely refrains rolling her eyes, but lets the captain continue with his dramatics. He’s at least telling the truth about Jayne being mad enough to kill.
“Gotta say, Doctor,” Mal leans back toward Simon, “your talent for alienation’ folks is near miraculous.”
“Yes, I’m very proud,” Simon deadpans.
The magistrate frowns. “The girl is a witch.”
“Yeah,” Mal agrees, “but she’s our witch.” He cocks his shotgun and levels it with the magistrate’s chest. “So cut her the hell down.”