"Matty, you can't possibly be serious," Kaylee repeated herself out of frustration. "That will fall faster'n you can spit and then you'll find yourself limpin' home to hear Dad laughin' and Momma cluckin' o'er you like a sick hen!" "It ain't gonna fall, cause I added somethin' special to the grav lock!" Mathias shot back. He pointed to a tangle of wires and metal fusings. "Here!" Kaylee looked and shrugged, glancing back at her brother. "I'm pointin' right at it," he insisted. She looked again. "Ai ya, that's your 'somethin' special'?" she asked incredulously. "I had that exact part back on Tooley's ride more'n four years ago!" "Worked then, didn't it?" Matty grinned. "Yeah, till a rock bounced under the carriage and dented it all t'hell! He still limps, from what Corbin tole me!" "I ain't stupid like Tooley!" Matty's grin was gone again. "I ain't flyin' it over no gorram mountains in clouds thicker'n Ma's stew!" "You say that now, but I recall a certain pretty girl made you think you could do all sorta stupid things," Kaylee said, poking her brother's arm. He rolled his eyes and went back to putting his tools away. "She married las' year, mei mei," he grumbled. Kaylee's smile faltered a little. "Oh," she said quietly. "You didn't mention...Matty, I'm sorry. I thought you two were..." "She married Tooley," he admitted. "That crash made him seem more...hell, I dunno. He may be limpin', but she's got his babe in her arms already." "Really?" Kaylee asked. Unaware of her own hand flying to her abdomen, she smiled. "A baby?" Matty noticed. He stopped putting away the tools and gawked. "You're preggers!" he accused. Kaylee blinked and dropped her hand. A grease stain now remained over her stomach. "I knew you wouldn't wear a dress t'dinner jus' for a homecomin'!" Matty laughed. He rushed to his sister and hugged her tightly, swinging her off her feet as if she weighed nothing. She gasped for air when he finally released her. "Don't say nothin' yet," she ordered. "I gotta tell Momma and Dad first. I wanted to say at th'table, but--" "Naw, not in fronta Maura," Matty insisted. "Not yet. She jus' lost her third last month. She's already jealous a'you for leavin' and marryin' a doctor and all. Don't add to the mix." "Jealous a'me?" It was Kaylee's turn to gawk. "She's feng kuang de! Jealous of what? Never havin' a permanent address? Hardly havin' time to see the sun, let alone bask in it?" "I didn't say she was smart," Matty laughed. "And you love flyin' around. That boat's your home more'n this place ever was. And the folk you call your crew seem nice enough." "I love Serenity, Matty," Kaylee admitted. "But there's days ya wonder why ya stick around. Cap'n ain't always easy-goin' and it took forever for him t'be real honest with...and Jayne has his...I been scared on that ship, Matty. I mean, scary can be excitin' an' all, but nice is different from good. This family here, you and Momma and Daddy...Corbin and Maura and Cale...you're good here. Out there in the black...it ain't always good." "You seem t'enjoy it enough when you write," Matty said quietly. "Enough to want a babe up there with ya." "I miss folks here," Kaylee admitted, her hand again on her stomach, feeling the life within her. "But I can't imagine leavin' Serenity. I do love it up there. Jus'...not all the time." "Like when the bullets are flyin' and you're to holdin' back the Reavers till everyone comes back from some darin' mission?" Matty teased. He was surprised to see Kaylee's expression was serious when she looked at him. "Like then," she said. "And in the moments after, when we're countin' up crew to see if we got everyone with us. And in the moments after, when Simon's patchin' us up again." "I didn't think that..." Matty came forward to sit next to his sister. "I thought you was stretchin' truths or...I didn't think you'd actually seen more'n a bar fight." "They don't put me in the front lines, Matty," Kaylee rolled her eyes. "But sometimes the front line gets pushed back more'n we'd like." She paused, then looked at her big brother carefully. "Don't tell no one I told you that," she warned. "I don't want no one else worryin' for me. Cap'n sees to it we're safe. He don't like puttin' anyone at risk. He even went to th'Alliance once, when Shepherd Book needed help and we couldn't find Simon. He hates the Alliance, too. That weren't easy for him to do, but his crew needed it and he did it." "Where was Simon?" "Oh, he got kidnapped," Kaylee waved off the question. "We got him back." "Is he likely to get hisself kidnapped again?" Matty asked, his worry for his sister showing. "We know where to find him, if he does," Kaylee laughed. She patted her brother's shoulder comfortingly. "He's a good man, Matty. I wouldn't love him if he weren't." "Is that Kaylee goin' on about love?" Corbin drawled from the doorway. Kaylee and Mathias looked up suddenly. Jayne was leaning on his crutch just behind Kaylee's brother. "Don't things ever change?" Corbin continued, his eyes gleaming. Kaylee stuck her tongue out at him. "Apparently not," Mathias laughed, standing up. He went back to tidying up the shop he shared with his father. He watched Corbin and Jayne enter the shop a little wobbly. "You showed him your pride-n-joy?" he asked. Corbin smiled widely. "Did at that," he answered, wrapping an arm around his little sister's shoulders and leaning against her. She stumbled under his weight, laughing a little. "We shared a drink on the way back, too." "Smells like a bit more'n a drink," Kaylee teased. She glanced at Jayne. "You, too?" "Takes more'n a drink or two t'get me loopy," Jayne smirked. "But with that dope shot Simon gave you...?" Kaylee prompted. Jayne scowled in response. "It wore off," he insisted. "I ain't loopy." "Uh-huh," Kaylee smiled. Corbin looked at his sister with more than a little shine to his eyes. "I gave your friend here a tour a'the town," he explained. "We started here, and took your mule and drove t'my place by Cale's. I showed him th'farm and somma the jack we made from th'apples. An' we tried some. That's it. Then we walked back here, cause he said you'd take his head if we scratched your precious mule." "I would, too," Kaylee nodded. She looked to the man on crutches. "You walked back here?" "We brought some of the jack with us," Jayne muttered. Kaylee laughed.

"Better not tell Simon," she warned, still grinning. "He's like to go off about mixin' meds and alcohol again."

"Oh, say, Matty," Corbin said suddenly, taking a seat on a nearby crate. "There's men in town, lookin' for a mechanic. Seems they did some damage comin' in this evenin'. Need t'be able to go back up to th'black soon. Mebbe they'll hire you on, like Kaylee an' her crew, you do a good 'nuff job for 'em!"

"Why'd they need t'go off again so soon?" Matty asked. "I was hopin' to convince Kaylee to fill in for me tomorrow with Dad. Wanted t'race the Weien twins."

"Dunno," Corbin yawned. "Mebbe Kaylee could do it for ya, if ya ask nice."

"I ain't workin' while I'm here," Kaylee insisted. "I'm restin' with my crew."

"You get paid to do it?" Jayne asked.

"Prob'ly," Corbin shrugged.

"Mal'd letcha," Jayne offered. "No use turnin' down good money."

"I'll think about it," Kaylee decided. She turned to Jayne. "Let's get you back up t'the house. I gotta get someone to go out to Corbin's and get the mule back."

She and Jayne left her brothers as they walked back to the house. She had grown into adulthood in that house, but until that moment, she didn't realize how much she had grown up on Serenity. A shadow made her turn to see the Cap'n and her father coming up from Daddy's "smokin' corner." They seemed to be getting along just fine.

Frye wrapped his arm around his daughter as they walked to the house. As they came in, they could hear laughter coming from one room and smell a delicious chocolatey concoction coming from another.

Kaylee let the menfolk go towards the laughter as she poked her nose into the kitchen. Inara and Maura were smiling and dressed in aprons. Inara gestured for Kaylee to join them. She did...and was met by Maura's open arms.

"You drunk, too?" she asked.

"Naw, your friend here's been tellin' me all 'bout how you want to be girly for your husband," she grinned. "Guess ya shoulda listened to me more back when, huh?"

Kaylee looked at Inara, who shrugged apologetically.

"Sure," she answered. Maura turned back to the sweet tea she was mixing. Kaylee leaned over to Inara questioningly.

"I may have let her answer her own questions," Inara whispered. Kaylee nodded, catching on.

"She does that anyway," she grinned. Inara smiled.

"I noticed," she whispered. A laugh exploded from the front room. Kaylee blinked.

"Is that Momma?" she asked.

"That girl seems to make her laugh," Maura responded. "You think she knows somethin' we don't?"

The laughter that next startled folk came from the kitchen.