After another three days of bed rest Alana decided she felt well enough to get dressed and take a tour of the ship; her new home, at least for the time being. Inara had kept her word and made up an outfit that allowed her friend to walk about comfortably without putting any pressure on her injuries.

The dress was made from a dark red material, which hung loosely across her chest, and was secured over her shoulders and under her arms, which left her back unclothed since it was still so sore. The material swept down to the floor and round to her right side while a second piece of the material was secured round her hips and tied with a knot again on the right side so there was a large swathe of material covering her right leg but her left, which had the huge cut, was left mostly uncovered.

Inara had brushed Alana's long wavy hair so it hung down but over her right shoulder so it did not tangle with any of the dressings on her back. Inara smiled when she stood back and took in the sight of her friend who, less than a week ago, had been at the mercy of violent kidnappers. Now she stood, looking regal and beautiful, and smiled as broadly as Inara had seen in years.

"I shall go and get the captain and tell him you feel fit enough to take a tour of the ship and meet the crew properly."

Alana nodded and perched down on the side of the bed to wait while Inara went to find the captain. She didn't have long to wait until the shuttle door opened again and in walked Mal followed by Inara. He almost did a double take, as he looked Alana up and down.

"Well, you look... Better... Err... I'm glad to see it, and you've found somethin' to... Wear. I gather you feel up to a tour of the ship and you'd like to meet the crew formally. That's just fine, I'm thinkin' you've met most of us briefly but it'd be good to have a sit down and see what everyone thinks. Shall we start the tour?"

She nodded and followed the two of them out of the shuttle as the captain led the way down the metal gangway to the top of the stairs.

"This here's the cargo bay, we have all manner of stuff in here and it's the cargo which makes us the money so we're takin' care of the cargo first and foremost. We have the big cargo bay door over there and as we come down the stairs we walk past the entrance to the other shuttle and down to the main storage area. That's Jayne's weigh bench and workout area, you met him already, movin' on..."

She nodded and smiled at the large man as he sat on the end of the bench. He nodded back at her and as she turned to walk away she was aware of his eyes following her. She looked back over her shoulder and smiled when she saw him look away just slightly too slowly. He lay back down and began to lift the metal bar again so she made an effort of stepping over the threshold of the cargo bay so she could watch for a second longer. There was something about him that she found deeply interesting; he was so different from any other men she had met. She realised that the only men she had really been exposed to since she had entered companion training were either monied clients or male servants. She tried to get her mind back on the tour of the ship and realised they stood outside of the infirmary where she had spent her first few days and nights on the ship.

"...You probably remember here, this is Simon, our doctor. But you'll already know that since you've spent some quality time together what with him sewin' you up and all."

"Alana, I'm glad you are feeling better. Come by later and I will change your dressings. We should be able to remove some of your stitches in the next couple days."

She nodded and smiled at him. The trio walked back out of the medic's room and the captain explained about the bedrooms that were nearby saying they were for passengers and also the doctor and his sister had one room each. They walked up the stairs that ran down the side of the infirmary and walked into the communal areas.

"This here's the mess area, we all eat here together at 1900 hours every day. We have a rota on cookin' and cleanin' and if you decide on joinin' the crew you'll do your fair share with everyone else. This here's River, she's Simon's sister an' our resident reader so if you have a problem with that we can set you down first planet we come to."

"Why, captain would I have a problem with a psychic? I have nothing to hide. Hello River, my name is-"

"-Alana, you are a trained companion but hated the decadence of the lifestyle and being treated like an object. Nothing to hide but more than meets the eye."

River smiled sweetly, performed a curtsey and walked out of the mess in the direction of the infirmary. Mal shook his head and led the way through to the engine bay where Kaylee's legs stuck out from underneath the beating heart of the ship.

"We now come to Kaylee's turf; the engine room. Kaylee, come on out here an' say hello."

The sunny smile of Kaylee followed the rest of her as she slid out from beneath the engine. She jumped up and ran a grease-covered hand through her hair only realising a moment too late. She giggled at her mistake and Alana smiled at her carefree attitude.

"Oh, you're lookin' much better. You're lookin' real nice, that's a pretty outfit you have on. 'Nara has such nice clothes. This here's the heart of our happy home an' it's my job to keep it beatin'. If you're ever needin' anythin' you just holler at me, 'k?"

"Thank you very much Kaylee. I look forward to getting to know you and to work with you."

The two young women smiled at each other and Mal looked backwards and forwards between them and then walked onwards towards the pulsing engine bay. "Ok... Movin' on then... This is the aforementioned beating heart of our happy home. I'm sure you techno-girlies can have a lovely chit chat about the inner workin's sometime but as far as I'm concerned if it's broke Kaylee fixes it."

He patted his engineer on the head as they walked back out. She grinned widely and then gave him a peck on the cheek.

"I love my captain! But seriously, Alana, if you do have any problems, technical or otherwise, my door's always open."

Alana smiled as Mal practically pushed her out of the rather overcrowded room and then they walked back through the mess room and along the corridor.

"Those steps there lead back down to the shuttles and the cargo bay. These are the crew bunks for Zoë, Kaylee, Jayne and myself. Up these steps now and we're in the cockpit which I hope will become your domain eventually. This is Zoë: first mate and the voice of reason. We served together in the war but I'm sure you will get your fill of war stories if you decide to be stayin' with us. This is the pilot's seat and this is the co-pilot's seat and down front is another storage area. I don't know if you're feelin' up to tryin' it for size, I don't mind either way."

Alana looked from the captain's slightly expectant face, to Inara's encouraging smile, to Zoë's unreadable expression and to the pilot's seat. She stepped forward and perched on the very edge of the seat, still very conscious of the huge cut in the back of her left leg. She examined the control panels and found nothing which was unexpected and smiled up at the three people watching her intently.

"I would want to actually have a go at going into orbit and manoeuvring her but I'm still not really up to flying yet because I can't sit back comfortably. I have to say I'm very excited about this opportunity and hope very much to become a part of the crew as long as everyone is in agreement."

She looked shyly at Zoë, who up to this point had regarded Alana with a stony silence and not much more. Zoë realised what she was getting at and looked at the captain.

"Sir, before I make my opinion public, I'd like to talk with you in private."

"'K, Zoë, 's fair enough. Inara, Alana, we'll meet you in the mess area and talk some more once Zoë and I have a chat."

The two women nodded their ascent to the captain and the first mate and left the bridge.

"Ok Zoë, what's buggin' ya? She's a damn good pilot, we both know that but there's an unspoken but with you. So I want you to speak it. Now. 'Cause now's your chance to say what you think without being a problem." "I don't know sir, she seems nice enough. It's just I'm not sure how well she'll fit in. She has to know about our leanings and our less than legal trade arrangements. She has to be made aware of what she is getting herself in to. Other than that, I want to see how she handles Serenity before I give my final nod. My husband flew this ship like she was a part of him so seeing anyone doing the same is gonna take some getting used to but we has to keep flying and I know as well as you we need a proper pilot, no offence, sir. Give her a test flight and I'll give you my agreement as long as she doesn't kill us or crash or nothin'. I wanna say that I'm not sure but then I said the same thing when Wash join up and we all know how that worked out so..."

She shrugged and Mal patted her on her shoulder and nodded.

"It's Ok Zoë, I understand what you're sayin' and I agree with everythin'. Until she takes the helm we can't be one hundred percent sure but you do raise a very good point 'bout the type of employment we tend to take on and our legal leanin's. Let's go have a chat."

She nodded and they walked slowly through to the mess area.

***

Inara and Alana made their way back through to the mess area. Jayne had finished working out and have settled down at the dining table to clean his guns. He had spread out a selection of his arsenal of weapons and was studiously oiling and polishing them. He looked up as they came in, grunted and then went back to his task. The two women went over to the couch area and Inara sat back while Alana perched on the edge.

"Are you happy mei mei?"

"Yes, I think so. Inara... I guess I'm relieved to have almost literally landed on my feet here. You know I never felt like the training house was my home, my place in life. I went through all of that training, like you did, but I was never driven like you were, I never wanted that life. Don't get me wrong, I loved the other girls, well most of them, and it was nice to be waited on while we lived at the training house but I never enjoyed the work. I hate being seen only as an object, that I'm something to be possessed, owned, I'm not that kind of person. You like your work and I respect that, more than most probably can, and I understand it, much more than most but I want to be more than I can be as a companion. I mean sex is always fun-"

Her train of though was interrupted by the sound of Jayne choking on his drink at the table. She smiled as she realised he had been listening to her. She continued with her thought.

"-Sex is always fun but it's nice to flirt, to romance, to choose a lover because I'm attracted to them not because they can afford what I'm asking for an evening of my time. Do you know what I mean?"

Before Inara could answer Mal and Zoë came through from the bridge of the ship.

"We'll continue this conversation later, I think."

Inara said to Alana quietly as the captain and the first mate got themselves drinks and then came over and sat down with the two women.

"Zoë and I've been talkin' and we've agreed that we're happy to give you a trial run, when you're well enough. What we're needin' you to understand is that durin' the war we fought for the Independents and we still hold their values in high regard. The Alliance is not our friend and we do like to be doin' pretty much anythin' to annoy 'em. In line with that last statement we need to explain that some of our cargo that we transport from time to time is slightly less than legal-"

This time the conversation was interrupted by a snort of laughter from Jayne. Mal shot him a look and Jayne put his head back down and started lovingly taking apart his largest and clearly his favourite gun. Alana was sure she heard him crooning over it.

"...As I was sayin', some of our cargo's what could be considered black market. We're wantin' to be makin' sure you don't have a strong moral standin' on that subject."

"To be honest Captain, I don't have a problem with anything which puts the Alliance's back up. My father fought in the war and died for his troubles. He had been a supporter of the Alliance before the war and we had been quite a wealthy family but after he was killed my mother received no widows pension because of some stupid technicality and the only way we could avoid the breadline was by me joining the companion house and my mother working for the local land owner as a housekeeper. We had to sell our home and all of our valuable possessions simply because some pencil pusher lost a form saying that my father had died supporting the Alliance. I hate them for being this all-encompassing thing but if you fall through the cracks you are less than dirt no matter what you were before. Sorry to go on but I want to make toy understand that any harm you do the Alliance, you do me a favour."

"Ok then... Well I guess that's it for now. It's almost time for dinner so if you're feelin' up to it, stick around so you can share a bite of dinner with us. If you're too tired I completely understand since this is your first big chunk of time out of bed since you were injured."

"I think I'd like to stick around for dinner, if it's all the same to you."

She smiled at him and he smiled back. He felt that, despite Zoë's slight worries, Alana would fit in with the crew very nicely. Kaylee came rushing in and started to clatter about in the kitchen area loudly. It was her turn to cook but she had lost track of time while working on the engine. Jayne finished cleaning his guns and picked up has stuff and carried it all through to his bunk. River came running in chased by Simon who looked very embarrassed when he almost ran straight into Kaylee who was setting up the table. "Oh Kaylee, I'm terribly sorry, it's just that River has taken my encyclopaedia and won't give it back."

"It's ok Simon, she'll give it back, you just have to ask her the right way. River! Will you give Simon back his encyclopaedia if he gives you half of his dessert?"

"It's a deal!" The floated voice came back from just outside the mess room door.

"Gee, thanks Kaylee I get my own belongings back and get to give away half of my dessert to boot. Just what I always wanted."

He huffed and then sat down at the table. Kaylee laughed and River came back in and give her friend a high five. He gaped at them as he realised he had been conned. Everyone who had been paying attention to the exchange laughed and Simon laughed along with them good-naturedly. Jayne came back in and sat down at the table and looked around to try and figure out what everyone was busy finding so amusing. Mal took his place at the head of the table and Zoë sat on his right side. Inara headed over to the table and sat between Zoë and Simon. River came over and sat at the foot end of the table. As Alana stood up and made her way over to the table Kaylee began laying out the food. Alana walked round to the side of the table with the two empty seats and took the one next to Jayne and opposite Inara. Kaylee finished setting out the food and sat down next to Alana. The captain coughed to get everyone's attention.

"I'd like to be welcomin' Alana to our ship and to our table. I hope this is the beginnin' of a long and profitable friendship. Now everyone, Kaylee has made us this lovely... Meal of... What is this?"

"Well I was goin' for meatloaf and mashed potatoes but I guess it's just protein loaf with mashed potatoes instead. We do have rice puddin' for dessert though so it's not so bad. That is one thing you'll need to get used to, Alana, cookin' on ship is a rather odd process since we don't have a lot of fresh ingredients out here in the black. We do the best we can right cap'n."

Kaylee smiled brightly and Mal nodded. Jayne scooped a large portion onto his plate and got stuck in.

"Tastes 'k, I guess. Kinda like meat loaf without the meat. Not a bad attempt Kaylee, girl. Pass the mash."

Simon grasped the bowl of potato and a slice of the loaf. Alana took a small piece and had an experimental bite. Finding it to taste as Jayne had said she took another bite and then scooped a small amount of the mashed potato onto her plate as well. The group chatted happily about the events or non-events of their respective days. Alana sat quietly soaking up the chatter. Once the main course was finished Kaylee presented the group with her rice pudding, which they greedily dug into. River was careful to make sure Simon got a smaller portion and that she and Kaylee got slightly larger servings. When River was not looking Kaylee put a bit of her pudding into Simon's dish and gave him a wink and squeezed his hand.