Mal sat on the couch in the common area drinking his coffee as he reflected on the events of the last job. Badger had landed them a good deal and now they were flush with spare parts and lots of cashy money. Mind you, there were of course the usually gunshot wounds that seem to come with any job they took, but all in all, the crew was in good shape.

He was so pleased with the results of the job that he decided to stay overnight in Beaumonde, to the crew's delight.

Jayne had mumbled something about trim before running to his room and then out of the ship. Inara was pleased that she could accept a client for the evening and had taken off in her shuttle. Zoë just smiled stiffly and then retired to her bunk.

Simon and Kaylee had looked at each other with their normal, lust-filled gazes, and Mal and found himself agreeing to watch River for the night so they could have a night out. Kaylee’s parting shot of seeing him in the morning had unsettled him a bit thinking about taking care of River overnight, but since Miranda she’d been doing much better; things would hopefully go smooth.

Just then, he heard the soft sound of bare feet on metal grating coming from the dorms, and he looked up to see River gliding into the room. Clothed in a well-worn babydoll nightgown, Mal felt his cock harden at the silhouette of her body through the fabric.

Squelching those thoughts quickly, he smiled warmly as she sat down next to him on the couch.

“You all right, little one?” Mal asked when he noticed the tear tracks on her face.

“Scary monsters peck like carrion birds. Each after their pound of flesh.”

Mal’s eyes narrowed as he tried to decipher her meaning. Realizing that she’d had a bad dream, he smiled compassionately at her.

“Why don’t you lay down here for a few minutes, and let’s see if we can’t chase the monsters away.”

River rested her head on his thigh for a pillow and curled her body into a ball next to him.

Mal tensed briefly as she put her head in his lap, then dismissed the notion of demanding she remove it. Feeling her tremble and assuming she was cold, Mal reached up and grabbed the blanket someone had left on the back of the couch and spread it over her.

River sighed happily and snuggled closer to him.

“Mal, talk to me.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Tell me about living on a ranch.”

“Hmm.”

Mal’s eyes took a far away look as he thought about growing up on the ranch with his ma and forty ranch hands.

“Well, first off, my day started bright and early. The sun wasn’t even up when I started my day. I had to go collect the eggs from the chickens first, then milk old Bessie so Ma could cook breakfast. Then I had to feed all the horses before I could eat.”

Mal had absentmindedly begun to stroke her head as he spoke. River felt soothed like a cat by the steady rhythm of his hand on her hair.

“After breakfast, the foreman would tell the hands what jobs needed doin’ that day. When I was younger, all I got to do was muck out the stalls and help around the yard, but as I got older I got to ride out with the men and herd the cattle, repair the fences and such-like.

Dinnertime was my favorite part of the day. Ma and I always ate that meal with the hands, and what a fine time that was, especially after dinner.”

River’s eyes had begun to flutter closed. The gentle stroking had lulled her into a calm and she was falling asleep.

“Old Red, what a character he was. He was nigh onto 60 when I was a kid and he could spin a yarn about the ‘good ole days’ as he use to call them. I must have heard all his stories hundreds of times, but every time they seemed new and exciting. Johnny would pull out his guitar and sing old cowboy songs from Earth-that-was.”

Mal paused briefly and looked down at River. She had settled into a deep sleep.

Smiling, Mal decided he’d just sit there a few minutes until she was deep asleep before taking her to her room. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes as reminisced fondly about his family on Shadow and how he missed them.

Before he knew it he had drifted off to sleep. His hand rested on River’s head in some unknown gesture of benediction.