Author: Meltha
Rating: PG
Feedback: Yes, thank you. Meltha
Spoilers: For Serenity and through all of BtVS.
Distribution: Fanfiction.net and the Bunny Warren. If you're interested, please let me know.
Summary: River still needs guidance after the events of Serenity, so Simon takes her to see a specialist.
Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Mutant Enemy (Joss Whedon), a wonderfully creative company whose characters I have borrowed for a completely profit-free flight of fancy. Kindly do not sue me, please, as I am terrified of you. Thank you.
Author's Note: Written for the axial_tilt Crossfandom ficathon for dorrie6.

Tutelage

"You’re old,” River said the moment she saw her new teacher.

Simon turned pink in embarrassment, especially since the woman looked like she was perhaps twenty-five.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized as River continued to stare at her. “My sister is a little… confused sometimes.”

“That’s okay,” Willow said, smiling, though her eyes looked intensely at the girl. “She’s right, really. Let’s just say I don’t exactly look my age.”

Simon nodded and glanced around the room. He still wasn’t perfectly comfortable with the suggestion Inara had given them. After the exposure of what had happened on Miranda, River’s mind was clearer than it had been, but there were still times when she slipped into another world, one where she still heard screams and didn’t feel safe. Sometimes, no matter how much he tried to comfort her, she lapsed into pained silence. He began to realize this was not only a reaction to the experiments the Alliance had performed on her or the fading echoes of a doomed and insane world. The power in her, both physical and psychic, was becoming too much for her. It was as though every brain she passed tapped into her mind with a hailing frequency and she couldn’t shut it out.

He had confided this to Inara one day, and she had offered to send out feelers very discreetly through some of her contacts to see if there was anyone who might be able to offer help with the situation. Eventually, she had found one companion who had visited a planet that was mostly desert where the locals had included a young woman with peculiarly strong abilities herself. Simon had quietly made inquiries and eventually spoke with Willow herself. She had agreed to talk to River and Simon in person when she heard the specifics of the case, and now here they were, with Mal telling Simon that Serenity would be ready to sweep in and grab them at a moment’s notice if Simon felt anything funny was going on.

“So,” Willow said, breaking the awkward silence, “would you like some tea?”

“No, we’re fine, but thank you,” Simon said quickly.

“I’m thirsty,” River said, shooting a look at Simon that made him realize she was Not Happy with him for answering for both of them. “Tea is good.”

Willow smiled at them as she walked to a samovar at one side of the room and poured two cups of tea into a pair of plain white cups. She handed one to River and took the other herself.

“Please, sit down,” she said, motioning to the worn but comfortable floor cushions. River at once sat cross-legged on one, and Simon, slightly more cautiously, sat back on his heels.

“I’m not entirely sure if you will be able to help us, Miss Rosenberg,” Simon said carefully.

“Simon isn’t comfortable with things that can’t be quantified,” River said to her. “He’s a good brother, but he doesn’t hear the things I do because he doesn’t have ears, well, other than the ones on the outside of his head.”

“Most people don’t,” Willow said seriously. “It’s hard for them to understand.”

River nodded and took a sip of tea.

“Yes, well,” Simon said, not quite sure if he should feel insulted or not. “I’m told you have some experience with cases like my sister’s.”

“To be honest with you, not all that recently,” Willow said. “I knew several dozen young girls who suddenly had a lot of power put on them at once, and I served as a counselor to them until they were able to handle it on their own. I don’t think I’ve ever come across anyone quite like River before, though. From what you said before, it sounds like an extraordinary situation.”

“These other girls,” Simon said, “did the Alliance use them as guinea pigs too?”

“No, though I don’t like the Alliance,” Willow said, putting down her teacup. “They were Slayers.”

“Slayers?” Simon said, glancing over at River. “My sister isn’t some kind of killer in spite of what the Alliance tried to do to her.”

“A killer: one who kills,” River said automatically. “I killed Reavers, so I am a killer, Simon.”

“You’re not a murderer,” Simon said sharply. “I don’t like the sound of the word Slayer.”

“Slayers weren’t assassins or murderers either,” Willow said. “They were warriors, kind of like River. They had a job to do, and they did it so well that they put themselves out of business.”

“On the other world,” River said, “before we left it alone in the darkness.”

“Yes,” Willow said, tilting her head at her. “You do get into other people’s heads well, don’t you?”

“The volume’s always up,” River said, looking sad.

“Do you want to stay here?” Willow said. “I might be able to help you.”

River gave her a questioning look, and Willow nodded almost imperceptibly as though giving her permission for something.

“You’re a good witch,” River said, her expression intense. “Long ago, you weren’t. You tried to end it all, everything, but you didn’t because you remembered who you were. Someone reminded you. You cast the spell that made all the barriers go away, but you didn’t see the payment, that you would go on and on and on while they all fell away like autumn leaves and left you. You miss them.”

Willow said nothing.

“I want to stay here for a while,” River said, turning to Simon. “She can teach me what I need to know. She knows the coordinates on the map.”

“River,” Simon said, concern in his voice, “you don’t really know this woman yet, but you’re ready to stay here?”

“Just a while,” River said, smiling bittersweetly. “I know more than you think I do.”

“She does,” Willow affirmed. “This ability is going to be with her for the rest of her life. She needs to learn how to live with it.”

Simon glanced between the two of them, then his shoulders slumped in resignation.

“How long do you need to keep her?” he asked.

“A year or so, I think,” Willow said, then quickly added, “but you can come by whenever you like to see her.”

Simon stayed for several more hours, watching the two of them interacting together, seeing the quarters where River would lodge, checking the area for any signs of hostility or Alliance presence. By the time he was pulling out scientific equipment to check the soil composition for any possible problems, Willow and River were already exchanging wry looks.

“Simon,” River said firmly, “you need to go now. You’re becoming embarrassing.”

“I just want to make sure you’re safe,” he said, both flustered and mortified.

“I know,” she said, “but I’m as safe as I can be anywhere else. Go back to the ship. It might help you relax if you copulate with Kaylee again.”

“River!” he shouted as he turned bright pink.

“You really remind me of someone I used to know,” Willow said to River. “She didn’t have much of a mute button on private stuff either.”

“Go!” River said, pointing dramatically towards the door.

Simon looked a little abashed as he collected his things and started to leave.

“River,” he said seriously, putting his hands on her shoulders, “remember, if you need me, all you have to do is let me know. Okay?”

“I know,” she said, then gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”

Simon did leave, though not without trepidation. He made sure that Serenity docked at least once a month on the planet so that he could keep an eye on his sister despite Jayne’s protests that they weren’t getting enough work to pay him what he was worth. Each time, his sister seemed just the slightest bit better and more herself. By the time the year was passed, though she still carried scars that would never really fade, she had the strength and skill to survive them.

As for Willow, when Serenity departed for the final time carrying River away, she sat down to have another cup of tea and wonder why, after so many centuries, the Power That Be had finally activated another Slayer. The only thing she could be sure of was River was going to have a remarkable journey ahead of her.