“Leave Serenity?” repeated Kaylee in disbelief. “Has it ever crossed your mind?” asked Simon. “When things were at their worst?” Simon, who was lying on his stomach on his bed with nothing but a towel to cover his backside, swung his legs around so that he sat on the edge of the bed across from Kaylee. He repositioned the towel to cover up again and waited for an answer. Kaylee sat in the chair across form Simon. She leaned back and folded her arms across her bare stomach. “Never,” she said flatly. Simon sighed. Of course he knew the answer to that. He reached out and took a hold of one of Kaylee’s hands, “It’s just that...I finally figured out what I should be doing with my life now. Maybe I was never supposed to mingle in the elite social circles of Osiris. One day picking a bride from the social registry data base. Joining charity clubs that give twenty cents on the dollar on what they raise to host parties. Maybe I was always going to part from my parents. Maybe nobody is supposed to live like that. But right now I know that I am supposed to be in love with you and to be a doctor.” Kaylee let out a nervous laugh, “Well Simon, that’s what you’re do’in right now.” “No it isn’t. I’m a killer.” “What!? No you ain’t. That’s ri-gorram-diculous.” “I killed a man today, Kaylee. Don’t you understand? I was never supposed to do that. Even when I was a kid, way before my father planted the seed of being a doctor; I knew I was supposed to help people. When I finally became one I thought I’d be helping everybody I met. That it would be my way in life. I put...that’s how I knew I was better than all the socialites that seemed to hang around. They didn’t care about one person that wasn’t just like them.” “Simon, all that is in the past. Ya can’t go back there.” “No. But with the Alliance not hunting River and me down...maybe I can go somewhere else.” “That’s just a little too hopeful, Simon. You don’t know that it’s safe. And you are a doctor. You’re our doctor. You’re not thinking of leaving River too, are you?” “She doesn’t need me anymore.” “That ain’t so!” Kaylee was becoming exasperated but tried to remember that Simon had been under an extreme amount of duress that day. “Come on, Kaylee. River is right. We’ve seen what she can do. And as for her meds; she’s down to two shots and the occasional adjustment.” Simon shook his head, “She is more than intelligent enough to read up and administer it herself. She’ll be able to take care of herself.” Kaylee raised her eyebrows and leaned forward, “Will she?” The emphasis on will threw Simon off, “What do you mean?” “You’re a doctor, for Christ’s sake, Simon. You know what I’m talking about. People will eat a ton of butter in their life time then end up on your table not knowing how they got there need’n a plastic heart. It’s the same shit with machines. People take’em for granted. Mal loves Serenity as much as anybody can love anything. But he’ll put off changing hydraulic fluid in the avionic systems, radcore tests, and... just don’t get me started on the compression coil.” Kaylee clenched her fist at the memory. “River still ain’t one hundred percent in the head. She ain’t all powerful. What we need to remember is that she’s still a girl. A teenage one at that. All of them are rutt’n invincible in their own minds.” Kaylee could see she was getting through to Simon. The gears were turning behind his eyes. “River still needs you,” Kaylee continued, “we all do. Hell, how many times over would people on this ship have died if weren’t for you?” She pushed her hips to the edge of the chair and pulled the borrowed boxer shorts she wore low on her hip to show the scar of her bullet wound, “I would’a been the first.” Simon touched the scar. Mostly as another excuse to touch the woman he loved but also to admire his fine work. He had neither the will nor the desire to point out the wound would never have occurred if he had picked another ship on which to escape the Alliance. There was no point in it. He squeezed her thigh with his soft yet strong surgeon hand, “You’re right. You’re completely right. I’m just so tired. I’m not thinking right. Let’s go to bed and try our best to sleep forever.” Kaylee smiled and nodded. Simon sat for a moment and looked at her beautiful face and bright eyes. He stood up letting the towel fall to the floor and made the bed ready. Kaylee watched him bend over as all of him was revealed. She decided against doing something to him. Instead she would be an adult and walk to the other side of the bed and lay down. Simon got in first. Kaylee slid in next to him and wrapped her leg around his and placed her hand on his chest. He cradled her with his arm. Their relationship still so young they were willing to pretend it was comfortable to have somebody’s limbs laying on them when trying to sleep. What’s a dead numb leg in the morning compared to being close to a lover, they reasoned. Simon looked at Kaylee after he turned the light off, “So, uh, are you going to leave those things on all night?” referring to the little shirt and boxer shorts. Kaylee bit her lip, “Right. Simon, there’s another issue need’n discussed bout River.” ***** River walked forward to the bridge with a clipboard in one hand and a cup of fresh, steaming herbal tea in the other the next morning. She wore her combat boots, cargo pants, and a smock type shirt with a paisley border around the bottom and a floral design around the V neck. The shirt was bought in a little general store on the Rim. Because of this, it was made of natural cotton and dyes made from berries. For that reason it was one of her favorite shirts. One could only find shopping like that on the Rim for decent prices. Shopping. Must go shopping after job, screamed the teenager inside her. She set her clipboard and tea on the helm console and sat down. Her pants felt abrasive against the cuts and scrapes from the sand of Santo but she ignored that this morning in order for the cuts not to show. River called up the navsat on the general interface screen to see if any changes had been made to Serenity’s course during the night. There had been. A flash message told the computer something of ‘high velocity matter’ in the quadrant. Serenity in response decelerated and deflected her course by a few degrees. She was scheduled to resume the original course in four hours. They would essentially arrive at the same time so River did not try to modify Serenity’s plot. Like Kaylee’s wiring, River didn’t want to offend Serenity by fixing something that worked for her. River contemplated the hazards of space travel for a moment while sipping her tea. Most people, even those who traveled the stars often, thought of space as empty space. But River knew different. Space was full of junk and rocks flying this way and that way. It seemed like a miracle that humans were able to navigate the uncharted reaches of space away from Earth-That-Was. The Alliance had virtually every particle in and around major space lanes tracked. Relatively unrestricted access to the navsat network kept the lanes from being a space ship graveyard. Some would see this as quite benevolent but she knew that in the past they used navsat to steer certain ships to doom. Another evil nugget her brain plucked from the twisted minds of Parliament during her stay at the Academy. She sipped some more tea. It was some kind of black, spearmint tea with floral accents. Describing it seemed like the blend should not work but tasting it was a different story. She accessed the ship’s monitoring system and checked all of the parameters. Of course being that the tea belonged to Inara she should not expect anything less. Inara left behind all kinds of little things around the ship when she departed from Serenity. Both times. It seemed odd to River that someone so organized and neat would do such a thing. River felt the warmth of the cup in her hands and looked out into the stars. They were always beautiful. A space walk would be nice today, she thought. With her hands on the helm she could create a thousand reasons to justify one. She had done so in the past. But today there was no time. “Speaking of time,” said River, “it’s time to see how you’re really doing Serenity.” River leaned in her chair and peered through the door to the passage way. The coast was clear. She pulled her boots off easily because they were never tied all the way. Then off with the socks. She fingered a few of the cuts and scrapes in between and on the top of her toes before setting her feet on the metal deck. At first she slid her feet back and forth on the metal rapidly so the friction would warm it to a comfortable temperature. Then she slowly twisted her feet back and forth. Allowing a piece of herself to seep into the metal hull like the essence of the tea permeating the water. Her consciousness drifted below decks to Mal’s quarters. Mal had the same routine in the morning when he woke up. The first was to think of all the reasons to go on living his life. The second was to wash up and shave while thinking of all that needed to be done on Serenity and to think of busy work for people so they did not get too lazy. The third was to put his tight pants and suspenders on while gathering up the courage to put on his brave face. He is so incredibly strong, River thought. Zoe also had a morning routine. She lied awake in bed with her arm clutching Wash’s side of the mattress. She inhaled every breath through his pillow trying to get as much of his scent in her as she could. As time went on the sent faded. But River knew Zoe had a backup plan. Wash’s colorful shirts were vacuumed sealed in plastic and stacked in his old locker. She would stay there until she heard Mal leave his quarters. Then she would get ready for the day. Sometimes her pain was minimal. But other times it was too much for River to bear. Jayne’s room was always skipped over due to a previous horrid experience. Despite this precaution she was always nauseated when he seemed chipper in the morning. Kaylee was of course in the engine room checking Serenity out and making sure her maintenance schedule was correct. Sometimes she talked to Serenity while she went about her work but today she did not. Simon was in the kitchen. River expected him to still be asleep. But he was very restless. She decided to have a talk with him. She put her socks and boots on. River typed up a quick report for her log. She printed and affixed the hard copy to her clipboard. She picked her tea up and walked aft towards the kitchen. ***** Mal dragged his razor through the hot shaving foam down the last patch on his chin. Taking all of the weapon cases and putting them into the black bulk containers should occupy Jayne for a solid two hours, he thought. It sounded good enough to him. He heard River’s small boot steps from the bridge to the kitchen. He swished the razor in the water and drained the sink. He walked to his cortex screen. He knew it was futile but had to check anyway. Still nothing from Inara. Mal plopped himself on to his bed. He massaged his temples. It felt like the entire crew was coming apart. Zoe and Kaylee still had their grudge. Jayne learned about what was going on in the Verse and had to be weighing his options for personal gain. Simon was feeling remorseful over that corpse. And River...was still being River he concluded. Had they lost their trust of each other, he wondered. But all of this was inevitable, he thought. Isolating themselves in the Black allowed them to postpone these tensions and let them fester. He didn’t want to pray for one but he and the crew really could use a break. ***** Simon stared at the wall in the kitchen through the steam trail of his tea. He wore his pajama pants, a white tee shirt, and his slippers. Mal had a pet peeve that he enforced as a rule that people be dressed properly when not in their quarters. Simon did not care this morning. “Are you mad at me too?” Simon turned to see River standing over him with an uneasy expression on her face. “No mei-mei,” he replied, “I’m fine.” “Liar,” said River. “It’s not about yesterday. Quite frankly it was all such an overwhelming and exhausting experience I think most of it is out of my system.” River pulled out a chair from the table and sat down. She knew that was exactly the type of experienced that resurfaced and caused problems later, “So what is bothering you?” Simon sighed, “Its Kaylee and me. It’s stupid really.” River waited. Simon knew he might as well say it, “It’s just that it feels like my relationship with her is a threesome. There’s her, there’s me, and this other girl named Serenity who came first.” River tilted her head, “How so?” “This morning I wanted to sleep in with Kaylee. You know, just relax. It’s another two days to Athens so why not? She agreed last night to do it. But this morning she got up without thinking and headed off to the engine room. She has an alarm clock in her room but I swear she doesn’t need it at all.” “Well Simon, she’s just taking care of Serenity because she knows Serenity takes care of us.” “I didn’t say it was for no reason. It just bothers me that it will be like that as long as,” Simon searched for the right words but felt like he failed, “Serenity lives on.” River knew those were the perfect words. “I know it’s selfish of me to think that way,” continued Simon. “But that’s how I feel.” River decided to lighten the mood, “So would you feel more comfortable if Serenity was a man?” “Speaking of which,” said Simon out of the side of his mouth, “twenty seven times, huh?” He looked at her with a furrowed brow and drummed his fingers loudly on the wooden table. The comment struck her like a sledge hammer. River’s brain had completely blocked the memory of saying that to Kaylee until now. While in the moment on Santo her brain was calculating ways to tempt the bandits into the ambush. Kaylee was acting so stiff and nervous that saying those nasty, but true, things to her was its best option to achieving that goal. Now she had to sit there in front of her brother and pay the consequences for it. She loathed her brain. There were chunks of it that she would love to do without. And if she thought she could live without them she knew where to do the drilling. “Simon, uh...yesterday the plan called for...” Simon cut her off, “It really doesn’t matter. The point is I know you have limits when it comes to controlling things like that. But from now on I would greatly appreciate it if we were afforded at least the illusion of privacy. I know this will be a contrivance of normality but we’ll just act as if everything is normal.” “Okay.” “You see; doing that interferes with our intimacy and I don’t think that’s fair to us.” “It’s not,” agreed River with her head hung in shame. “I’m so, so sorry.” Simon looked at his sister. He believed her. He decided to diffuse the situation, “Ya freak.” He lightly kicked her leg under the table and smiled. River shrugged and smiled feeling awkward, embarrassed, and dim-witted all at the same time. “Well gotta get back to the bridge,” she said with the same painful smile. On her way to the bridge she saw Mal emerge from his quarters. She wiped her sweaty palms on the ornate hem of her shirt and said, “Got something from the navsat, Captain,” as if she were a naval cadet. “Be there in a sec,” said Mal groggily as he passed her. Yep, River thought, that will be comfortable too. Mal shuffled into the kitchen where it was a little too bright for his bleary eyes. He saw Simon at the table with a cup, “Coffee?” he asked. “No its tea,” said Simon, “and it’s quite delicious.” “It’s weak. Need coffee.” “It’s part black tea so the caffeine content is roughly...” “Weak I say! Need coffee,” Mal repeated. He noted Simon’s lack of proper clothing but chose to keep a lid on his vast reserve of witty and captainy reprimands. Mal walked over to the counter where he found the hot water for the tea. They had fresh coffee but he did not have the patience this morning. He pulled out the jar of instant coffee crystals and poured a little into a hot cup of water. He walked back to the kitchen table with his cup and sat at the head of the table which always seemed available to him. He took a sip and rubbed his face, “How are you, Doc?” “Fine. Fine really. It’ll just be some time before...” “It takes everybody time. ‘Cept for maybe your sister and some really evil men we’ve met.” Mal held his cup up then sipped. “Like the men on Santo?” “Not a doubt in my mind.” Simon shifted uneasily in his seat, “Captain, I was wondering if we could stop by Kaylee’s home planet sometime.” “Really? What for?” “Well I thought it would be a good idea to meet with her parents.” Mal squinted at Simon as he sipped his coffee, “Uh, problem is; that rock is way out of the way from everywhere we would go. And sending both my doctor and mechanic away on a long trip like that could be troublesome.” “I understand. It’s just that...I know her family is really conservative and it would be nice to do the traditional thing.” Mal raised his eyebrow, “What traditional thing?” Simon shrugged, “You know; ask permission.” “Permission for what?” Mal shook his head. “Ask her parents for permission.” Mal frowned at Simon, “Boy, it is early and I’m in no mood for a gorram guessing game. Now what in the hell are you talking about?” Simon sighed, “Permission for Kaylee’s hand in marriage, Mal.” “Oh, that.” Mal’s eyes popped open, “Oh that! That! Oh, okay, that. Whew, I’m awake now.” Mal set his coffee down. “Really? That?” “Could we keep it down, Captain?” “Yeah, sure. Sorry.” Mal chuckled, “You ain’t weak. I’ll give you that, Simon.” Simon smiled and nodded, “So you approve, I take it.” “Boy, what is your hang up with approval? Not that it matters one bit; I do. Ha! The first time I met Kaylee I thought...” Mal paused. He took one look at Simon’s smiling face and decided that telling him he was originally worried Kaylee would drag some disease infested knuckle dragging gear head spacer into her bunk and get herself pregnant some day was not the best thing to say. “...she would come aboard, work her butt off in the engine room, and never meet anybody that would treat her right,” Mal solemnly digressed. “And a girl as passionate as her doesn’t deserve that.” Simon smiled, too embarrassed to respond. Big damn save there, thought Mal. “So what about meeting the parents?” “Is this happening soon?” “No. Not for a while. She doesn’t even know.” “So we should keep this in between...” Mal pointed back and forth between Simon and him. “Yes,” Simon nodded, “I’d appreciate it.” “Okay. Sure if we can’t find decent work out there then maybe there will come the day everybody is under the impression that we have.” “Thanks, Mal.” Mal looked through the window at the stars then back at Simon, “I’ll do you one better, Doc. I’ll marry you two.” “The ceremony? You can do that? You would do that?” Mal set his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together, “Simon, let me explain something to you. I am a captain of a ship and that makes me a powerful, powerful man. It’s because we’re so casual around here y’all don’t acknowledge it. But yeah, I can do that. We have a fresh registration so it shouldn’t be a problem. Just have to track down that little book from the transportation registrar that tells me how powerful I am. Not sure of the notary process on that.” Simon smiled from ear to ear, “Wow. Kaylee is going to love this. I was a little nervous. I thought you had a thing about relationships onboard...” Mal cut him off, “People got to live their lives, Simon. All there is to it.” Heavy boot steps pounded from the crew quarter’s passage way. Jayne entered the kitchen with a towel draped around his neck, “Top of the morn’n to ya.” He briskly walked to the sink to fill a canteen with cool water humming a tune. He finished filling the canteen, “Time for my morn’n exercise. Later.” Jayne waved and smiled as he left. Mal pointed at Jayne as he left, “Is it me, or from time to odd time does he seem more...chipper than usual in the morning.” Simon nodded, “Yes. It disturbs me as well.” “Well I got to go do those captainy things. Your sister has something for me to look at that I need to pretend to be interested in.” Mal stood with his cup and walked towards the bridge. “As a favor, Captain...” “Said my peace yesterday Simon,” said Mal as he left the kitchen. “Hey pajama boy,” said Kaylee as she walked into the kitchen. She already had a cute stripe of grease on her smiling cheeks. “Is that coffee?” “It’s tea and it’s...” “Weak,” she said. “Yes. Exactly,” said Simon. “Well I better go get dressed. Do you need some help in the engine room?” “Not really but I always welcome the company,” Kaylee watched Simon leave as she poured some fresh coffee into a filter. She put four pieces of bread into the toaster and readied the jam. She looked in the fridge and found that some artificial scrambled egg mix remained as well as frozen concentrated orange juice. She gathered the items and placed a skillet on a hot burner. From the corner of her eye she saw something in the door way. It was Zoe. She was buckling her belt when she made eye contact with Kaylee. Their eyes locked for a second. Zoe continued into the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of the brewing coffee and walked back to the table. She sat at the far end. Kaylee poured the egg mixture into the sizzling skillet. As far as she was concerned it would have to be Zoe that made the first steps towards a truce. It was Zoe who was out of line on Persephone. But Kaylee seriously doubted that time was coming soon. It looked to Kaylee as if Zoe was sitting at that table telling herself what a stupid, silly, little girl Kaylee was. Zoe agonized over her cup of coffee so much she couldn’t really taste it. She was desperate to apologize to Kaylee with all of her heart. But that was the problem. It would be with all of her heart. For the past three months she stockpiled so much sorrow, regret, doubt, fear, pain, and hate into a corner of her mind. Her only way to keep it from exploding forth was to remain stoic and composed. She could not do that and apologize to Kaylee and Kaylee did not deserve to bear the brunt of her emotions. Kaylee sat down at the other end of the table on the opposite side with her complete breakfast. The two friends stared in silence as they sipped their coffee. ***** Always two by two Now the Serenity crew No more Hands of Blue River composed the haiku in her head on a whim. Of course the Hands of Blue were still out there but they were no longer reaching for her or she was far out of their reach. But now, two by two had a new meaning. It was the way the dinning area was treated. Hardly more than two crew members would sit down at the table and share time. It was like some kind of natural instinct amongst the crew. As if the behavior served the purpose of maintaining the ecology of the ship. On Persephone five of them were in there at once and it felt completely awkward to River. This was the greatest and most immediate threat the crew faced. Isolation from each other. But River knew that she was powerless to stop it. For once, she was not integral to the problem. The solution would have to come from them. Yet nobody took any forward steps towards the solution. ***** “Pink lacy undies, huh?” Jayne ruminated. He scratched his beard, “I’d never have guessed that’d be what Kaylee was wearing?” River laughed, “That’s part of why you never had a chance, Jayne.” Jayne looked at his feet, “What’re you talk’n about?” “Oh, come on. I knew from the second I saw you two that’s what you wanted.” “More crazy talk,” said Jayne. Mal rolled his eyes in the rear seat of the shuttle, I knew that before I even hired you Jayne, he thought. They were on their way to the campsite to finish the deal. River was piloting while talking to Jayne who sat just behind her. River had finally found someone that appreciated her plan on Santo. Mal would have reiterated his complete disapproval to stop the story telling but this was probably the first time he observed Jayne not wanting to strangle River with her own hair. Seeing as how she had raided Jayne’s weapon locker to perform the feat he was letting it go for now. Despite his lingering anger towards the girl Mal asked River to come along on this mission. Badger had warned them of Dedrick Collins’ strong dialect and knew River had a talent for such things. Jayne was invited in lieu of Zoe because she was a complete wreck earlier in the morning. He had told her the night before what time he wanted to have a meeting and she didn’t bother to show. He found her in bed wide awake. She offered no explanation. She simply said she couldn’t go today. Mal was speechless and full of remorse at the same time. He left her there and it felt like he was leaving someone behind on the battle field. He had to figure something out for Zoe because this kind of thing was unacceptable from the standpoint of a captain and unbearable for a friend. ***** Kaylee sat on the steel grating and wished she had an actual workbench. She needed to perform maintenance on a pressure sensor but one of the screws holding it together was stripped. She placed it on the deck and clamped it to the grating so she could drill the stripped screw out with an extractor head. Very carefully she fingered the trigger on the highest torque setting and was rewarded by a steady revolution from the screw. In a few long seconds it was in her dirty hand. She smiled and stood up to stretch her legs. “Kaylee, I’m ready to talk.” Kaylee spun to find Zoe standing in the door. Her eyes were red and her hair slightly unkempt. She didn’t bother to tuck her shirt in. “I’m listening,” said Kaylee. Zoe stepped inside the door and shut it behind her. Kaylee got a little nervous when Zoe locked it. Zoe paused trying to find the right words, “I feel like I should explain something. I think it’s easy for me to forget that I don’t say much about myself. I protect myself that way.” She laughed nervously, “I don’t know what from. But that’s why I do it. And so, when I have a different idea about something it’s hard for people to understand. And that’s hard for me. I don’t ever expect people to agree...but it’d be...easier, if they understood.” She exhaled heavily, “You see Kaylee, there was a time, way before, when I had things. Things that were important to me. Family was one of those things. A home was another. The war came along and destroyed those things little by little until it was all gone and I had nothing. Nothing but violence on my mind and hate in my blood. They called that gorram truce and after they scooped us out of that valley, living and dead together, I didn’t have a war to fill the void anymore. I think back now and realize that I could have fought that war forever as long as I could actually keep fighting, destroying, and killing. I...I basically lived on the streets and on the move afterwards. I tried working with a couple outfits but couldn’t stay with it. Then Mal found me. Saved me again. He gave me a home and little by little we started collecting friends.” She smiled with tears in her eyes, “Then came Wash. My husband. He turned out to be, somehow, the first person in years I didn’t need to protect myself from. He literally just danced into my heart with a few witty jokes and a handful of plastic dinosaurs.” Kaylee watched Zoe with her hands clasped together in front of her chest. Seeing Zoe pour her heart out was watching ice melt under a blast furnace. Kaylee tried her best to listen without crying. “Before I knew it,” Zoe continued, “I had a family again. You know...when you think about family you’re always afraid of something happening to them. But you push that fear to the back of your mind. Because if you don’t you never get to enjoy your time with them. Wash and I had so much fun together... Kaylee,” Zoe’s composure crumbled, “I... I wanted a baby! I asked him for a baby!” Zoe covered her face and her body violently convulsed without her making any noise. Tears streamed down Kaylees eyes. She shook her head and held her arms out for her friend but Zoe exploded with rage. “They killed him! Those fucking Reavers took him from me! Took my baby from me! Took everything! And it was the Alliance! The fucking Alliance again!” She balled up her fist and slammed it into the drive cowling. The thick metal rang like a bell. “Oh god, why? Why? Why them again?” Zoe began to collapse to the floor but Kaylee caught her. Kaylee helped Zoe to the hammock and sat down next to her embracing her friend with all of her might. Zoe wrapped her arms around Kaylee and sobbed into her shoulder in utter despair. “Sssssh,” whispered Kaylee in Zoe’s ear, “I understand. I understand Zoe. I’m here for you. We all are.” They cried together for a period of time that was lost to them both. Slowly they withdrew. Kaylee looked at Zoe’s hand. The tough skin on her knuckles was broken a little but not enough to bleed. She looked into Zoe’s eyes and said, “Will you be okay.” “Not until we do something first,” Zoe replied evenly. Several minutes later both Zoe and Kaylee were put together and freshened up. They were on the bridge with Simon. Zoe pointed at various controls on the console and said, “That’s long range radio. That’s short range. That’s navcom and those yellow buttons patch that feed to various places on the ship. That button there is lockdown and that one is GA. Any questions?” Simon blinked, “What are you doing?” He recognized Zoe’s look. She was on a mission. Kaylee however was not so easily read. “It’s kind of a surprise,” said Kaylee. “Like the last one we gave the Captain?” asked Simon. “Well we really can’t...” the navcom panel beeped. “See we’re getting a wave right now,” said Zoe. “And its...I know that originator code.” ***** River, Jayne, and Mal followed a guide in a single file line under a thick woodland forest. It was late in the afternoon on Athens. Harsh golden sunlight stunned their eyes when ever there was a clearing. It was spring on Athens and the weather was cool and pleasant in the shade. As the group walked River watched all around her to witness as much of the rejuvenation of the planet as she could. The first settler’s of Athens were somewhat mindful of what environment they wanted to live in. They meticulously planned ecosystems for years before actually setting down. This forest’s flowers were pollinated by exotic bees of every color of the rainbow. They may have been genetically engineered or from some isolated island on Earth-That-Was. River did not know. These bees were incredibly docile, River sensed as she watched them hovering from one flower to the next. Establishing exclusive territories and defending them was a far less important priority than doing the work of replenishing the hive with food. Their predators were few and easily sated. A perfect little world. Almost. River understood now more than ever how fragile things could be. To keep this ecosystem closed its designers slashed and burned a ten mile perimeter around the forest. They seeded the soil in that perimeter with poison so that no natural living thing would stay there long. A river bisected the territory and where it fed into the forest there was an intricate dam system. Not only did it regulate the flow of water to prevent flooding it used an electronic signal to turn away certain type of large fish. This kept the ecosystem unsuitable for larger predators which made it safer for people. People that could hike the forests, set up camps, and look at the beautiful plant life. One pregnant stow away spider from Santo crawling out of the cargo hold of Serenity could destroy it all. Was there no where that was safe from them, River wondered. “Wait ‘ere,” said the guide. He spoke into a communicator strapped to his wrist, “Jus’ me an a trio of stokes ‘ere.” “You’re Robin, China,” a tiny voice said. “Dedrick is ready for the buster.” The little exchange perplexed Mal. He leaned over to River and whispered, “Uh, am I a buster?” “No,” she replied. “A buster is a meeting.” “Ah. How could I have been mistaken? Keep an ear out for me. I don’t like these guys talking behind our backs in front of us.” “Roit,” said River. “Look ahead,” said Jayne. “See that big breath’n bush with the stick pointing out of it?” He pointed to the left with the hand that wasn’t carrying one of the laser pistol cases. Mal squinted into the distance and saw the camouflaged guard. The guide motioned for them to follow. A few minutes later they could smell something cooking. They came to a clearing where the campsite was located. The site was a mix of towed caravans, flimsy modular buildings and medium sized tents. There were three shuttles in the center of the camp. Two of them were new. The next thing they noticed was the people. It wasn’t just a pack of mercenaries in the camp; there were families. Everybody glared at them with intense distrust. Little children turned away shyly. From one of the tents emerged a large older man. He looked to be in his fifties. He wore a sleeveless denim shirt that revealed muscular arms and loose tattooed skin. A pistol grip shotgun was strapped to his back. On his head set a leather flat cap. He looked at the group up and down. “Cap’n Reynolds?” he finally asked. Mal politely nodded, “That’d be me.” The man pointed to the case, “That one of the ladies?” “If by ladies you mean ungodly instrument of fiery death. Then yes.” The man smirked, “I’m Dedrick.” He nodded back to the tent, “Come in.” Dedrick ducked into the tent and the group followed. Inside the tent was an old picnic table with an armed man sitting at it. Mercenary guards stood in all four corners. “’ave a seat,” said Dedrick. He gestured to the seated men, “This is me boy Liam.” Dedrick sat at the same time as Mal and his crew. “This is Jayne, public relations, and River my pilot,” said Mal. “Well, let’s take a butcher at the lady,” said Dedrick. Jayne set the case on the table, a little unsure of himself. River nodded and he pushed the case to Dedrick. Liam, a skinny pale man with red hair, spoke up, “Rather butcher the twist. Not much on the east side but those raspberries do catch the minces. Tight li’l Derby Kell and bottle. Love the Rolland bonney... ‘ey boys!?” A round of laughs was shared amongst the mercenaries. “Liam, shut up,” said Dedrick. River leaned forward on her elbows. Her face was red and twisted with anger, “Bubble like that again and I’ll lop off your Hampton.” Liam blanched at the threat and the embarrassment of having his words understood by the outsider. “Seriously now, how do you peddle something that short?” Mal had little doubt as to what a woman would threaten to chop off a man, “River. Let’s not get crazy.” “Captain did you hear what he said to me?” she shot back. “Uh, not really,” Mal shrugged. Dedrick held his hands up, “Me apologies. Me boy learned everything but his flags and banners.” “Flags and...Oh, manners,” said Mal. He looked at River, “I’m getting it now. But let’s just try to speak plainly from now on.” “Agreed,” said Dedrick. He opened the case picked up the mirror polished laser pistol. Dedrick let out a long whistle. “Unbelievable. Tell me Cap’n, what did Badger say about me?” “Nothing much, really. You two go way back. Now he wants to do the occasional deal and said something about you being a silent partner.” He set the pistol back in the case, “Interesting choice of words. He gets sent up to the boom, I take him under me wing, and damn near a decade goes by without me seeing him again. Now he’s lavishing me with jobs, money, and weapons.” “You met in prison?” asked River. “Yeah, long time ago. I kept his cherry prim for over a year in return for the occasional batch of Persians. Make a lot-o-money in the lock up that way. He was probably make’n more.” “Per-Persians?” asked Mal. “Yeah, Persians. Persian rugs...drugs.” “Of course,” said Mal. “Now about the deal...” “Listen,” interjected Dedrick, “does Badger trust you?” The question gave Mal pause, “In a way, I imagine.” “And do you trust him?” “In no way.” Dedrick slowly nodded. “What do you make of that arrangement? He throws some jobs me way. They pay Robin. But in return I have to buy these ladies and can’t move out of the sticks because of them.” “I’d say there’s an over abundance of convenience on his side.” “So would I.” “Looks to me you have more than everything you need out here,” said Jayne. “With a purty view to boot.” “Everything but a future for our kids,” said Liam. “This Berk wouldn’t have survived a day without me pops in the lockup. Which means he owes him his life. Which means he owes our family his life. Which means he owes everybody in this camp.” The mercenaries nodded. “This is real bees and honey ‘ere. Could be a fresh start for generations. But me teapots are still pissing in a hole in the woods. Doesn’t matter that it’s a nicer smelling one.” “Could be worse, is all,” replied Jayne. “Oh, yeah!?” shouted Liam. “Well what would you do if your flash ship...” “Liam!” barked Dedrick. Liam quieted down but glared at Jayne. River joined Jayne in glaring back at him. Dedrick continued, “It’s highly suspicious, you see. Lots of Badger’s boys are going legit now. They’ve got shipping licenses and legal charters. They can show their faces under the watchful minces of the law. But he still needs the muscle.” He motioned to Mal, “And he still needs to move contraband.” Mal nodded but said nothing. “Anyways. It was a pleasure meeting you Cap’n. Truly, if you’re going to be our only contact with the outside for a while it sure is a relief ‘ave’n a proper gentleman such as yourself to talk to.” “Thanks,” said a genuinely flattered Mal. “That’s ice.” Dedrick cocked his head to the side, “Come again?” “Ice. You know. Rhymes with nice.” Mal looked at River for support but only received a puzzled look from her. Dedrick’s eyes darted to Liam for a second. He waved away the embarrassing moment, “Oh, right. My sorry. Now the deal. We rendezvous at a rock quarry thirty miles south west of here in two hours. It’s a black hole after sun down. Nobody will be the wiser.” He produced a satchel and laid it on the table in front of Mal. “These Nelsons are for you.” Mal opened the flap and took one look at the denominations on the bills, “Hate to seem greedy but shouldn’t there by a couple dozen pounds of these?” Dedrick sighed, “That grumble didn’t tell you, did he? He waved us three days ago and said to pay you ten percent and transmit the rest to him. He’ll deliver it to you when you return to Persephone. Seems we’re both on a short leash.” Mal was enraged but kept a lid on it, “Indeed it does.” “Sorry China.” “China?” asked Mal “China plate.” “Mate,” said Mal. “You are getting it,” Dedrick smiled. ***** They followed the guide back to the shuttle. There were all kinds of things they would like to discuss but didn’t want to do it in front of Dedrick’s man. So they held their silence. A few minutes before they reached the shuttle the guide motioned for them to stop. “Do you hear that?” he asked. Mal listened carefully. He could discern the sound of some kind of craft in the far distance. “Barely.” “Somebody found you.” “No,” said River. “Too far away.” “What about your ship? Call ‘em.” “Alright just simmer down a bit,” said Mal. “Zoe this is Mal, come in.” Frustration boiled under Mal’s exterior. Once again his crew was being slow to respond during a mission. “Anybody, come in.” “Mal this is Simon,” squawked the radio. “Uh...over.” “Simon, where the hell is Zoe?” “She and Kaylee are... uh... they had to leave the bridge for a minute.” “Together?” asked Mal. That didn’t seem right to him. “Yes. They’re here on the ship. Just give me a second.” Jayne spat on the ground, “How ‘bout this. New rule: If you ain’t on the mission and you ain’t taking a leak then you’re on the bridge.” Mal mulled the rule over for a second, “That’s, actually, quite perfect. Well done, Jayne. Ya hear that River? New rule.” Jayne smiled, “Yeah. The rule of Jayne.” Mal scowled at Jayne, “Not so fast there. My approval makes it the rule of Mal. Like any rule on Serenity. So it’s just a rule. A good one.” “Captain this is Zoe,” the radio cracked. “Zoe, look on the scope and see if anybody is snooping around. We heard an engine of some type.” Zoe came back, “Nope. Not a soul in sight.” It seemed to Mal her response was too fast. He looked at the guide and said, “There you have it.” The guide nodded and turned back to the path. Mal looked at River. She nodded her agreement that something was happening on Serenity. ***** The shuttle docked with Serenity with a muffled boom. Inside the shuttle Mal turned to River and Jayne. “Be ready.” Jayne shoved a pistol into the back of his pants and set a carbine by the door, “She wouldn’t let us walk into a trap, Cap.” “Maybe she didn’t have a choice. Something was amiss over the radio. We’re just being prepared. River?” River slapped a magazine into Jayne’s back up pistol and released the slide catch, “I don’t know what it is.” She tried to conceal the weapon under her small arm. Mal walked over to the door and looked through the portal, “I see Zoe on the catwalk.” He opened the door. “Zoe? Is everything fine?” Zoe smiled widely, “Everything is great, Sir. Did we get paid?” When was anything ever great, thought Mal. “Not all of it. We have to present ourselves to Badger to get the rest.” Zoe put her hands on her hips, “Well how much did we get?” “Ten percent.” “That’s good. We can still pay for this,” Zoe held out a sheet of paper. “Pay for... did... did you and Kaylee take the other shuttle and go rutt’n shopping?” he strode to Zoe and snatched the paper out of her hand. She snickered a little. The paper was a receipt for a long list of food items from what must have been the most expensive grocer on Athens. Zoe’s smile grew wider, “It’s for dinner. Kaylee and I are using actual whole foods tonight. Everybody’s invited. Everybody.” “Alright!” Jayne clapped and rubbed his hands together. “So when’s supper?” River giggled with joy. Mal took a deep breath, “Zoe. I’m not mad. You and Kaylee got some bonding done and that tickles me pink. But during a mission...” A soft voice floated over the cargo hold, “Hello Mal.” All eyes set themselves on the source of the greeting and stared in disbelief. Standing on the aft end of the catwalk with perfect poise and still grace was Inara. Her gleaming white smile was framed by luscious red lips and a flawless tanned face. Her dress was made of fine purple, red, and shimmering gold fabrics that clung and hung in all the right places. She inched closer, “You sent me a detailed itinerary so I decided to catch you on the last leg of the trip.” She nervously waited for a response. Kaylee and Simon emerged from the common area below and watched the scene unfold while holding each other. Mal took a few tentative steps forward. A surreal feeling came over him. For some reason he thought back to the Serenity Valley. Back to when those Alliance battle cruisers loomed overhead. Back to when the war had ended for him. He felt he was witnessing something as awesome and overwhelming as that moment. Only this time, instead of all hope leaving his soul, hope was flooding back to his heart. He rushed over and embraced her quickly. Mal pulled his head back but before kissing her he said with a shaky voice, “Are you going to leave?” Mal didn’t really know what he meant by that. He didn’t know if he was asking in the context of an hour, a night, or a month. Inara smiled back at him, “No, Mal. I’m never leaving again.” Mal shut his eyes and touched his lips to hers. They kissed each other deeply and for a very long time. The crew watched the lovers reacquaint themselves. Simon gave Kaylee a kiss on the cheek as her bright eyes stayed locked on the romantic scene. Zoe smiled unjealous and content with every fiber of her being. River cried uncontrollable tears of joy until she felt a peck on her shoulder. It was Jayne. He raised his eyebrows and motioned to Inara and Mal as if to ask something. “Oh, no,” said River suddenly realizing what he meant. “There’s no way I could have called that one!” ***** Mal closed the cargo doors as the last crate was hauled off by Dedrick’s men. He thumbed the com box. “River, set a course for Persephone. The job ain’t done yet.” “No. But it’s a seventy seven hour trip back,” said River. Mal spun to find her standing in the cargo bay. “Are you going to be alright?” “Alright? I’m great. What do you mean?” “You can’t rush back into your life with her. It will be different and you don’t know what’s changed. You have to relearn each other.” “Are you speaking from your intuition or your vast experience in adult relationships?” “They’re not my experiences.” Mal sighed, “River, these little cryptic talks we have about Inara and me don’t help all that much.” “You deserve to be happy.” “I’m aware of that more than anybody, I think. Look, I know you’re worried and I appreciate that you care so much. But you can’t get involved in this. It’s between Inara and me and nobody else.” “I’m sorry. I should know better.” Mal placed his hands on the girl’s shoulders, “I do have something you can give me your opinion on.” “Shoot.” “Zoe and Wash got the larger crew quarters when we first got off the ground. I’m thinking I’d like to move in with Inara here.” “You’re on your own on that one, sir. It’d probably be better to use one of passenger rooms.” “Where you sleep? No thanks. Now get that course set and get washed up for supper.” Fifteen minutes later the crew of Serenity was in the kitchen ready for their meal. Zoe triumphantly carried a beautifully roasted duck on a platter to the table. Kaylee followed her with a steaming bowl of jasmine rice. Inara made her way around the table with a pitcher of tea and a bottle of wine filling every glass. River had changed into her best dress and had her hair pulled into a pony tail. She already had plans for Inara to do something with it. Simon was also dressed in his Sunday’s best and eagerly waiting Zoe and Kaylee’s meal. Jayne sat on both of his hands to keep them from picking and plucking at the fresh rolls and fruit basket in front of him. Mal sat at the head of the table smiling so much it hurt his face. “Alright,” said Kaylee, “does everybody have their utensils?” The table nodded. “Check. Does everybody have their drinks?” The table nodded again. “Check. Does everybody have their salads and the dressing they asked for?” “Check, check, check, check, and check,” said Jayne. “Initial it, put it in the captain’s log, and sit down, Kaylee. Can we friggin eat already?” The crew laughed at the outburst. “No we can’t eat yet, Jayne,” said Mal. Inara, Zoe, and Kaylee took their seats. “Why not,” Jayne whined. “Well I’ve been thinking to myself the past two minutes. It’s been a while since all of us have eaten a meal together at this table. And it just so happened that Inara came back to us today. Maybe that ain’t a coincidence. Maybe we could be a little greedier and make this table fuller. Maybe if a prayer was said that’d be possible.” Everyone looked at Mal in amazement. “I’m not saying the prayer. That’s not my thing. But it’d be nice if everybody... had a word or two on their own right now.” He gestured to the table, “So bow your heads and get to pray’n.” The crew knowingly smiled and obeyed. Inara squeezed Mal’s knee for a second before bowing her head. Mal took a long quiet sip of his wine and surveyed his crew. He thought to himself, you could shut the power down, snuff out every candle, turn off the gas light, black out all the stars in space and this table would still glow. “Amen,” said Mal. The crew peeked from their prayer at him, “Let’s eat.” ***** “Ha ha! Over there!” said River. She disengaged the autopilot and gripped the flight controls. She manually boosted the power to the engines and bypassed the governor. She had spotted the little asteroid field on the way to Athen’s. She twisted Serenity into a dive towards it at full speed. “Holy shit, girl!” Jayne gasped. River invited Jayne onto the bridge to witness her little joy ride. He thought it would be fun. She thought it would be fun to convince him otherwise. Dinner ended three hours ago. Nobody was asleep but she seriously doubted that anybody would be looking out of a window. So she was safe to steal a dance from Serenity. She slalomed her way through an outer perimeter of small asteroids. She pushed Serenity into tight “S” turns. Stars and space rocks would streak across the window, pause, revolve, then quickly streak in the other direction. Jayne leaned into the turns despite having a gravity field that compensated all inertia acting on him. But it seemed to make the ride more enjoyable for him. She decided to not make a comment about how silly he looked. Another reason River invited Jayne onto the bridge was that she felt like nobody deserved to be lonely that night. Zoe was alone but for the first time in three months River sensed that she wasn’t lonely. As if she too had found her way back to Serenity. Kaylee showed her the path. River pulled back on the controls violently and whipped Serenity into a loop following the contour of a near moon-sized asteroid. The nose was angled towards the asteroid so that all that could be scene through the canopy was the rushing terrain. At the last possible instant, before smashing into the surface, she yanked Serenity into a precise half roll and leveled off thus executing a perfect Immelmann turn around the asteroid. “Awesome!” Jayne grunted. Curiosity crept into River’s mind but she batted it away. If she wanted to she could put Serenity back on auto and peep in on the couples’ love making. She could watch every thrust and grope and hear every moan and squeal. Kaylee made some cute sounding ones. River could go further. She could taste the sweat off of Mal’s neck without him feeling anything. If she wanted to. She could go further than any of them could imagine. If she concentrated hard enough she could intercept every synaptic signal from the four lovers’ spines without getting them mixed up. She could do this and experience sensations like no other human ever will. River knew this but she didn’t want to do it. She owed them that courtesy. Privacy would not be a contrivance tonight, she though. It would just be her and Serenity occupying her attention. She performed a long series of snap rolls then halted them. Serenity was pointed towards a small blue dot in space that River knew to be Athens. River slowly nodded while she reminisced about everything that happened that day. That beautiful day.