(Written Fall 2003 as gift-fic for two special people. Set a year or so after "Lessons.")

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. No infringement is intended on the rights of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, or 20th Century Fox TV.

No archiving, please. Feedback welcome.

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"There Is a Season"

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You remember Christmas.

It used to seem so long between the ones you can remember, always so far away, like birthdays. This year it's not so bad. You turned seven and Cap'n decided you were big enough to go out on some jobs. You helped him scam a slave trader. If you go shopping for supplies with 'Nara or Kaylee in clothes you've outgrown, they get better bargains. When you help clean the infirmary Doc teaches you about triage, and Grampa's showing you how to cook.

You're helping out more than ever and what would they all do without you?

Momma takes you aside like every year and asks what's the one thing you'd like for a present more than anything. Daddy does the same and you're supposed to give him a different answer. That way you always get at least two gifts, 'cause they'd never let you go without even if times are tough. Maybe not always exactly what you asked for, but always something special.

(When you were five you wished for a brother or a sister or even a cousin. That was the only time you gave Momma and Daddy the same answer. They both frowned, in different ways. Momma talked about complications. Daddy talked about choices. They each warned you not to go pestering Kaylee or 'Nara about the cousin thing. You learned not to make such a request again.)

When times are good you get presents from everybody and those are the best Christmases, even though Grampa says that's a little greedy. But he smiles when he says it, because in the good times everyone gets lots of presents and it's so much fun to watch the unwrapping and see all the surprises. You and River save all the pretty paper to fold into flowers and cranes and shapes without names. 'Nara helps you string them all over the ship, and she scolds Cap'n when he pretends to get mad and holler about the mess.

Bad times mean saving and scrounging and making the best of what you got. Food on the table and fuel for the engine are more important than presents, but River finds some paper from the year before, and everyone smiles at the pretties hanging everywhere. You sit on Daddy's lap and fall asleep as they all talk and share stories and that's good, even though you're still a little bit hungry, because everybody's together, safe and snug inside Serenity.

Last year Cap'n and Daddy had a big secret. You woke up on Christmas morning to find Serenity parked on a cold white world. The snow looked just like the pictures in River's books and the vids from the Cortex. Momma bundled you up all toasty-warm. The others did the same and followed you outside to play. Kaylee taught you how to make snowballs. Cap'n and Jayne built forts and tunnels in the big feathery drifts. Doc told you why snow was soft and hard at the same time, and you watched River dance with the snowflakes. Every time Daddy fell down and flapped his arms and legs in the snow Momma laughed.

You got wet and cold right down to your bones. Grampa and 'Nara made hot chocolate and spicy roasted apples, and everyone sat on the ramp wrapped in blankets watching the sunlight sparkle on all the shiny whiteness. It was the best Christmas ever.

This year's gonna be better. You're getting a cut now, so with that and your allowance you can buy presents your own self for all the crew for the very first time. There's much scheming and planning. You get to use the 'Nara's Cortex screen and she'll take you shopping next planetfall. Doc says you can hide things in the infirmary. You have a serious discussion with Jayne about where to find the best ammo. It's been a real good year and everybody's got big damn secrets.

Grampa hears you say that to River and so does Momma. So you get sent to scrub out the waste filters which is so not fair. Cap'n makes a fuss saying it's a miracle you ain't using worse language yet, so what's the big deal, and Momma doesn't speak to him the rest of the day. Daddy finds you later and teaches you other words, like tact, discretion and appropriateness. He says if you ever feel the need to cuss for a real good reason, you can say it to him when nobody else is around.

You feel guilty 'cause you were calling the waste filters all sorts of bad names while you scrubbed them. You promise yourself to behave better, on account that it's Christmastime. Besides, Jayne tells you even though he also thinks it ain't right for little girls to swear, that by the time you're ten nobody will make a fuss about it no more. You can wait.

It's more fun to think about the shopping and hiding presents. You even have one all picked out for Serenity. When you think about seeing everybody's faces on Christmas morning, when they see what you bought them with with your very own money, you get a floaty feeling all over. You have to run to the hidey and hug yourself, keeping your secrets safe.

This will be a Christmas you'll never forget.

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