Author: youngest_one 
Title: Idle Conversation
Fandom: Firefly/Sandman Crossover
Characters: Zoe, Morpheus
Rating: G
Summary: Zoe has a visit from a tall, dark stranger 
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Neil Gaiman own all the situations and characters contained herein. I'm just playing with them for a while. 

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	The minute Zoe felt her eyes opening, she knew it was a dream.

	This was pretty strange in and of itself; even during the last few days of the war, when sleep had been scarce and the fears many, she hadn't remembered any of her dreams. She'd just never seemed to have them, or if she did, they vanished when she woke up.

	This time, however, she was pretty sure she was dreaming. At least it was a nice dream; she could feel the warm sand against her back, and just a few feet away, a blue - green sea stretched off towards the horizon. There were seagulls wheeling in the air, adding their cries to the dull roar of the tides. The sky was blue, and fluffy clouds drifted by slowly. She stretched, and wondered how long she'd get to enjoy this. Wash usually twisted and moaned in his sleep, but that rarely woke her up, so she should have a decent night's sleep unless whoever was on watch dragged them out of bed at some ungodly hour. Heaven have mercy on whichever member of the crew had that wretched duty. Wash might get away with it, but she'd need persuading. Refusing to think about late night emergencies any longer than necessary, she carefully laid down and closed her eyes, letting the warmth of the sand and the slow ripple of the tides lull her into a strange half - doze.

	She felt a shadow come over her, and instinctively rolled over and leapt up into a battle ready crouch.

	That just seemed to amuse the tall, pale, black haired man who stood before her. His height and pale skin aside, he seemed utterly normal and forgettable, dressed in boring black civvies and black boots. Normal and forgettable, except for his eyes. They shone like distant stars in the black pits where his eyes should have been, and Zoe got the uncomfortable feeling that if she looked hard enough, she would see her entire world contained in those two shining points of light. Shaking her head, she asked warily, "And you'd be the tall, dark, mysterious stranger, right? How the hell did you get into my dream, of all things?"

	"You are not afraid." It was a statement, not a question, and as he said it a raven flew down and perched on his shoulder. She thought it might have barked something like "showing off", but she was too far away to hear clearly. "That is good. So many people react to the unknown with mindless fear, not with cool reason. To answer your question, I have had too many names to count, but it pleases me this night to be known as Morpheus. And may I ask you a question, Zoe Alleyne Washburn? Why do you dream of such a peaceful place?"

	Puzzled, she tilted her head sideways to stare at him from the corner of her eye. Mal had always teased her for doing that. "Why do you ask? Who doesn't want a nice relaxing day at the beach?"

	The black haired man shook his head, and motioned for her to follow as he turned and walked away. Curious, Zoe followed. Leading her to the Serenity's mess hall, he sat down at one of the tables and looked her square in the eye, saying "You, Zoe, are not like other people."

	Zoe snorted. "Tell me about it." Absently, she curled her hands around a cup of hot tea. The warmth soothed her and helped her concentrate. "Got a greater passion for lost causes than most folks. But why are you so interested, Mystery Man? What makes my dreams so special?"

	He took a long time to answer, stroking the raven on his shoulder and looking at the bulkhead behind her. At last, he said "You have not had many dreams for a long time. I had almost given up on seeing you here at all. And now, these few recent years, you have begun to dream again. I find myself wondering, why the sudden change?"

	And just like that, they were sitting in her and Wash's cabin. Wash was still sprawled out like a rag doll, turning and muttering to himself and rumpling the sheets. Zoe found herself smiling fondly, and had to repress the urge to comb some of his untidy hair out of his eyes. "There's your answer, I guess."
	
	"But you want more, do you not? You want even more assurance, even more anchors for your life, more things to come back to. Is he willing to give these things to you?"

	"I'd like to think so." Her voice was more doubtful than she would've liked, but she continued on, determined to be right. She'd always had a thing for hopeless cases. "He needs time to get used to the idea, is all."

	"And if he does not?" There was a silence between them then, broken only when the stranger reached across and took her hand. His touch was gentle. "Dreams can lift a person higher than the stars, or drive them into the hard earth. Do you think this one is worth pursuing, even if you could easily fall?"

	She looked at Wash for a long time. Then she sighed and turned to look the visitor right in his shiny eyes. "Yeah. I think it's worth it. More than worth it."

	A smile tugged the corners of his lips. He looked pleased. "Very good."

	When she woke up the next morning, she'd be damned if she could remember what she'd dreamed.