A.N. This is part 7 of a series that would have been a one-shot had it not been for all the comments begging for more. To catch up, start with Namesake and follow the links until they bring you back here.

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PART 19: HE OVERHEARD

Mal rubbed his neck, glad that River’s psychic ability helped them avoid would-be scavengers, but miffed by the delays that it caused. He longed for the days when he only had to worry about what he saw and not so much about what River could see. He paused outside the door to the galley, hearing Zoë and Jayne talking. Peeking in, he could see Little Zoë cheerlessly helping Jayne wash the dishes, her face pensive. Usually playful to the point of breaking plates, Mal had to wonder what had the two in such a somber mood, so he hung back and eavesdropped. “Uncle Jayne, how come you don’t talk anymore?” “I talk all the time, girl,” Jayne protested, batting some suds in her direction, but failing to invoke a fight. “I mean about jobs. Why ain’t you doin’ your job no more?” “Who says I ain’t?” “I just eavesdrop,” Zoë confessed and Mal stifled a laugh, knowing exactly where she got that tendency. The laugh died just as quickly when he started wondering what else she may have overheard. Zoë continued, “You used to talk all the time over whether a world was dangerous or whether we should keep the ship in the air. Always talkin’ about where us kids would be safest.” Mal had to admit, the girl was observant. Jayne had been off his game for awhile now, and Mal hadn’t known how to broach the subject. The merc shrugged, concentrating hard on scraping a piece of dried food off the plate he was washing. When he answered, his voice was thick, tinged with guilt. “Guess I figure now the safest place is right where I can see you.” “We used to have safe houses all over. But you haven’t sent us to any since Boros. Since Mama ‘Nara was taken.” “I seem to recall the Boros house not bein’ the safest.” “But it was safer, Uncle Jayne,” Zoë protested with soft urgency. “Those men were true evil. You saw ‘em! If we weren’t at the house, they’d have taken us right off Serenity. Left the ship in a wreck just like they left the house. Spaced you all and found us where we hid and done who knows what. The house was safer. And you showed me that back passage out of the house and I explored just like you told me till I found good water and a place for shelter. Just like you said. Couldn’t have been safer even if you were there.” Mal felt a lump growing in his throat as Zoë spoke assurances he never knew she felt. He could hear Jayne clearing his throat, trying to maintain composure. “You don’t have to say that, Zo.” “Uncle Jayne, when you don’t talk – when you’re not doin’ your job like you used to – sometimes I worry that I’m not safe anymore.” “You know that ain’t so.” “I know,” she answered quietly. “But sometimes I worry.” Mal was glad to hear Jayne pulling her into a hug, because it was all he could do not to run in there and hug her himself. “You know I’ll do anything to keep you safe, baby girl,” Jayne assured. Zoë nuzzled against him and giggled. “Uncle Jayne, I ain’t a baby anymore.” “Don’t matter. You’ll always be my baby girl.” Zoë laughed mischievously and if a smile could be heard, Mal knew he could hear one curling up her lips. “Then will you fly me?” Jayne laughed a little, squeezing her tight. “May need some help.” Mal peeked around, catching sight of Jayne’s hands on Little Zoë’s hips, and on a three count, he lifted her to sit on his shoulders. Zoë screeched, ducking so her head wouldn’t hit the ceiling. “I don’t recall this ceiling being so short!” she squealed, hugging Jayne’s head as he ducked through the door, heading toward the cargo bay. “Did I ever tell you about the time your daddy did a barn swallow and ate the hover mule right outta the air?” Mal stepped into the galley, smiling at the memory for Wash’s thrilling heroics. Then he followed discreetly so he could hear the end of Jayne’s story.

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PART 20: HE DANCED

Mal sighed happily as he entered their planet-side cabin and was graced by the sound of the Celtic harp. He was glad to be meeting Zoë and Inara at the house rather than the hospital. Little Zoë had recovered from her cancer relapse fairly quickly and she and Inara had spent the last month in the cabin awaiting Serenity’s return. Apparently wobbly-headed-geisha dolls had become very popular among cargo scavengers of late. Inara sat at the dining table, her fingers expertly flitting over the harp strings – a talent she’d picked up in the training house, but only recently could they afford the instrument. She smiled seductively, inviting him to come up behind her, not missing a beat as he danced his fingers through her hair. When the song ended, instead of reaching up for his face, she reached back her fingers delicately flitting over his thighs, playing him as easily as she played the harp. Mal smiled and rocked in rhythm until Cole burst through the back door, tripping over his shoe laces, still panting after the long hike from Serenity to the cabin. Inara scrunched her nose immediately, her hands leaving Mal’s thighs and waving frantically in front of her face as Cole ran up to give her a hug. “Oh, Cole, did your father forget to bathe you all month?” “We sweat like men. Smell like men!” Cole answered, making his six-year-old voice as gruff and Jayne-like as possible, flexing his little muscles. Mal steered Cole back a few steps as Inara turned positively green. “Cole collected a pocket full of stink bugs for you on the way here. He thought they were pretty.” “They were pretty!” Cole protested. “Baba made me throw them out. I could draw you a picture.” “I would like that, but run upstairs and take a bath first.” “But I—” “Do as your Mama says, Cole.” Wrinkling his nose in protest, Cole trudged up the stairs, taking the smell of the stink bug with him. “Dare I ask where Michael is?” “I sold him off for cash.” Inara swatted him, playfully. “In the garden. Where’s my little Zoë?” “Upstairs, getting ready for her date.” “That date had better be dinner with the crew tonight. They been waitin’ to see her.” “They can see her tomorrow at breakfast,” Inara countered dismissively, snaking her hands around Mal’s thighs again and swaying to the memory of the music. “Since when does she date?” Mal persisted stubbornly. “Since about two days after you left.” Mal blew air out of pursed lips, trying to force himself from annoyed to amused. “Is this why you told me not to hurry back?” “Maybe,” she laughed, teasingly, her hands working their way up his backside. This was the problem with women. Wiles and distraction. Two could play at this game. Mal took Inara’s hand and spun her out of the chair, pulling her into a dance, even though there was no music. He kissed her nose and her lips, forgetting the world just long enough to be enveloped by joy. What had he been trying to do? Mal looked up the stair as he and Inara danced. Zoë was standing just near the top in a purple, floral dress, her braids tied back with a sleek ribbon. She hadn’t developed all her mother’s curves just yet, but Mal swore she’d grown three inches since he saw her last. Or was it the low heels on her sandals. Her makeup was done subtly, clearly guided by Inara’s professional training. Little Zoë leaned against the top of the stair railing and watched the dance with a smile. Mal winked back at her. She’d told him once that it was her secret wish to find someone to love just as much as he loved Mama ‘Nara. It warmed his heart when she’d said it, and again now as he remembered. Closing his eyes, Mal sank back into the scent of his wife, dancing to a tune that only they could hear.

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PART 21: HE DIDN'T SAY NO

The next morning, Kaylee and Zoë snuck off with their breakfast to gossip about Zoë’s date the night before. Cole, Genny, and Jamie were playing tag while Michael lead River around the yard checking that all the fallen tree branches lay perpendicular to the cabin. Mal helped Inara empty her closet, wondering that she’d packed so much for such a short stay. He was a little annoyed because she was supposed to have been packed before he arrived. She was very particular about how her things went into the trunk. Mal’s job right now was to pull things out of the closet and lay them on the bed, wait for her to fill the trunk, and then carry the trunk on his back all the way to Serenity... perhaps he shouldn’t have parked so far away. He could always send Jayne to get the mule. “Simon wants Zoë’s latest medical records from the hospital,” Mal said, trying to carry ten pairs of shoes at once. He noticed that the trunk was still empty. Inara leaned by the window, considering the array of clothing already splayed across the bed. “I actually wanted to talk to you about Zoë,” Inara said cautiously. “What about her?” Mal asked, immediately concerned by her tone. “Is she okay?” “She’s fine. She wants to stay here this summer, just a few more months.” Mal shook his head, dumping the shoes on the bed. “Can’t keep payin’ rent on this cabin. ‘Sides, I think there’s another tenant comin’ in after us.” “I didn’t mean I’d stay with her,” Inara explained, uncertainly, finally picking up the first few garments and starting to fold. “There’s a summer school. They would match her with a host family. She really wants to go.” “Did you say yes to her already?” “I said I’d talk to you about it. But I think she should stay.” “How much does it cost?” “It would be good for her to have friends her own age, and a few new teachers.” Mal stopped with a handful of hosiery and undergarments. He didn’t drop anything, but his brain and feet weren’t quite moving in unison anymore. “I think I asked about cost?” “We can afford it.” “We can afford this,” Mal began sternly. “But what if she likes it here, wants to come to a boarding school or something. Can we afford that?” Inara continued packing her clothes, and didn’t answer. “You told her yes, didn’t you?” “I told her I’d talk to you,” Inara repeated. “Use your wiles and all,” Mal finished. “Hell, I’d’ve taken it as a yes.” A smile twitched on Inara’s lips, and she touched Mal’s hand, causing him to release the hosiery onto the bed. “You try and tell her no,” Inara jested lightly in his ear and pressed against him. “Just try, I dare you.”

*~* * * The story continues: First Crime