Merry Christmas! A present: the last chapter (an epilogue, really) of The Legacy of Uncle Jack. In this chapter: The fate of the dinosaurs, and (in the spirit of Christmas?) a gift from Zoe to Wash.

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11.

An epilogue

The curator of Ripley's Fantastical Emporium of Earth That Was was very excited when he saw the collection of dinosaurs, and he paid in cash. Some of it, Wash immediately spent on tickets to the museum for all of Serenity's crew. He seemed agitated, though, and unable to really enjoy himself. In the middle of the Bigfoot exhibit he left abruptly, waving off Zoe's offer to go with him and muttering something about meeting them back at the ship. A few minutes later, Zoe disappeared too, leaving Mal to walk through Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids with Kaylee. Museums of any kind weren't generally Mal's thing, but Kaylee's wide-eyed enthusiasm drew him in, and by the time they'd seen Easter Island, the Taj Majal and Macchu Picchu, he was forced to admit he was actually enjoying himself.

They rejoined Zoe in the lobby. She was holding a paper sack.

"You missed the Neanderthals," Mal said.

"Didn't we fight them in the war?" she replied.

"What's in the bag?" Kaylee asked.

"Postcards," Zoe said. "Back to the ship now?"

They made their way home to Serenity, where they found Wash waiting with supper: Chinese takeout that they could smell the moment they stepped aboard the ship.

Wash greeted his wife with a kiss, and nodded at her paper sack. "What's that?"

"Postcards," she said, glancing down at the envelopes in Wash's hand. "What have you got?"

"Money," Wash replied, handing an envelope to Kaylee, and another to Mal. Mal checked inside; as promised, the envelope was stuffed with cash. "Your cut," the pilot said, as he took a plate and started serving himself from the cardboard takeout containers.

"Cut?" Mal frowned into the envelope. "Of what? Of the dinosaurs? Wash, that was your inheritance!"

"And I sold it, which meant it had to be delivered to the buyer," Wash said. "A job, just like any other job we'd do. Everybody gets a cut."

He took his plate and went to the table. Zoe followed, hiding her smile. Such a Wash thing to do! But Kaylee and Mal stood holding their envelopes and looking perplexed.

"Don't feel right," Kaylee said softly, and Mal nodded.

"C'mon, guys, the food's getting cold," Wash pleaded. "I wanted this to be a nice meal for everybody; don't spoil it for me, okay? The money's not that much. I took a bunch off the top."

Mal thumbed through the envelope again, still frowning.

Zoe looked at her husband. A bunch off the top? But not for them; that would be unlike Wash. "What for?" she asked.

He stared at his plate, pushing the food around with a fork. "Pay a debt," he said with a shrug.

Zoe's eyes narrowed. She knew what debt Wash owed that he'd wanted to repay: flight school. "Your aunt won't take that money," she said softly.

"I know. I didn't send it to her," he said. To her inquiring gaze, he answered, "I sent it to Yangtze Station. For a scholarship, in memory of Jack Tallis."

Mal and Kaylee shook their heads, tucked away their envelopes, and helped themselves to the food.

Despite the payday and the good meal, the conversation was subdued, and Mal finished quickly and excused himself to do Captain-y things. Kaylee finished quickly, too, departing for the engine room.

Wash, uncomfortable in the silence but unable to think of anything to say, finally asked "Do I get to see the postcards?"

Zoe reached for the bag. "Not postcards," she said, picking it up. "I just didn't want my surprise spoiled." She handed him the bag, and he accepted it with a curious expression. Glancing from the bag to Zoe, and back, he unfolded the brown paper and pulled out the contents.

"Dinosaurs!" Wash looked up at Zoe, laughing, and she grinned back at him, glad to see him happy once again. Wash held up the clear plastic bag, examining the label and the contents. "Ooh, they have trees! I see a stegosaurus, and a T. rex, and a triceratops . . . Where did you find these?"

"Gift shop at the museum," she said.

"This is great!" Wash kissed her, and then pushed back his chair.

"Where are you going?" Zoe asked.

"To put them in my office! What else?" he said as he walked away. "This is terrific! Best gift anybody ever gave me! I've got my dinos back!" His voice faded as he pounded down the foredeck corridor toward the bridge.

Zoe watched him go, and smiled.