“All right,” Mal said, jiggling the fussy Hannah on his hip as he surveyed the general state of his crew. Thinking that they all looked surprisingly like children about to go on a play date, he smiled. “Everybody got what they need? I got no notion to be traipsin’ back over here to pick up somebody’s toy once we’re over there. Dong ma?”

Adam looked at his father solemnly, clutching his stuffed dinosaur to his chest. “I’ve got mine, Daddy,” he said.

Mal grinned. “I can see that, little one. You sure you want to take that one? He’s a mite…disreputable-looking to me.”

Adam frowned. “He’s the bestest one I got. And ‘sides, Captain Marcus has seen him before anyway. They’re old friends.”

“Is that a fact?” Mal asked. When Adam nodded enthusiastically, Mal turned to the rest of the crew. “So, Adam’s got his stuff. What about everybody else?”

“For goodness sake, Mal, you’d think we were going to the ends of the ‘verse instead of to the other end of the docks. If we’ve forgotten something, we can always come back and get it,” Inara said.

“I’ll keep it in mind that you’re the one volunteering to walk all the way back if that happens,” Mal said, his eyes twinkling with merriment. Turning to Zoe, he said, “You and Jim lead the way, and River and I’ll lock up the boat.”

Zoe nodded, stepping out with Jim into the hubbub of the Eavesdowne docks with everyone else trailing behind. Simon and Kaylee came next, walking slowly with Daniel between them taking faltering steps.

Simon smiled, proud beyond belief of his son. “So, you say there’s a new doctor on board the Hit or Miss?”

“Yep,” Kaylee said, catching Daniel before he hit the dirt. “A lady doctor too. Can’t hardly imagine how she’ll manage what with everybody else on board being a man and all.”

“Could be just the kind of setup she wants,” Jayne said, his grim teetering on the edge of leering before Inara poked him with an elbow. “What? I’m just sayin’…”

“Well, don’t,” Inara said, though her smile revealed that she was not genuinely perturbed. “I’m sure she’ll be a very interesting woman.”

“I would imagine so,” Simon said.

Jayne grinned at him. “Best be watchin’ how interested you get in the lady doctor, Simon.”

Kaylee interrupted him before things got out of hand. “I got no problem with Simon bein’ interested in the new doc, even if she is a woman. I know he’s all mine.” Simon’s ears turned bright red and she added mischievously, “Besides, I also know where all the heavy tools are if he was to get too interested.”

Simon sighed, used by now to the teasing. Jayne grinned. “Ain’t much fun to be threatened by the one has the advantage over you, is it? Reminds me of a little talk you had with me one time on the exam table.”

“I’d say that situation was vastly different from this one,” Simon said archly.

“Mebbe so,” Jayne agreed. “On accounta’ I’m thinkin’ Kaylee’s a lot more scary than you were.”

“You’re probably right,” Simon conceded, giving his wife a weak smile.

“Damn straight,” Kaylee said happily.

XXXXXXXXXX

Bear watched Murdocke skeptically as the smaller man set up the grill. “Using too much of that,” he observed as Murdocke squirted another shot of something highly flammable into the smoldering coals.

“You just mind your knitting, big guy,” Murdocke replied, pleased with the resulting flame. “I know a little something about starting a barbeque.”

Bear snorted, poking his own coals carefully. “Know how to start a conflagration, more like,” he said. “Just look at how these coals are burning all nice and even-like.”

Murdocke glanced over at Bear’s grill, vaguely annoyed to see that the large man was right. “Well, mine’ll be just fine in a minute or two,” he said. “By the time Marcus gets done showing the doc her quarters, we’ll be good to go.”

“Maybe by that time, Pierre’ll have found something better to put on the grills,” Bear said, looking at the meat piled into a plate between them.

“Here’s to hoping,” Murdocke replied, taking a small swig of his drink.

XXXXXXXXXX

“No, I’ll be fine right here,” Elizabeth said. “I see no need to keep the other section of the ship warm just for me. I have no objection to being on the same corridor with the rest of the crew.”

“You sure?” Marcus asked. “Because I figured you might like your privacy.”

Elizabeth looked at him with amusement. “This door has a lock. I think it’ll be private enough.”

“Well, all right then. If that’s what you want,” Marcus said, shrugging.

“There is one thing,” Elizabeth said, trying unsuccessfully to hide her grin. “I think I might like to have a private shower. Seems to me the communal one sees a little too much traffic.”

Marcus cleared his throat, feeling the flush rise in his cheeks. “Very funny,” he said. “But not such a bad idea, all things considered. There’s one at the end of the hall in what used to be the master suite.”

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said. After a moment, she added, “May I ask you a question, Captain?”

“You can ask,” Marcus said.

“Why don’t you use the master suite?” she asked. “Being the Captain, I would have expected you to choose the larger one.”

Marcus shrugged. “Got no need of a large cabin. Just as happy bedding down in one the size of everybody else’s.”

Elizabeth nodded, finding the answer very much to her liking. “Makes sense,” she said, walking beside him down the corridor.

“S’pose we’d best be getting outside to greet the crew of Serenity. They’re good people. You’re gonna like ‘em,” Marcus said, heading for the door.

Elizabeth followed, watching with interest as a strange assortment of people came walking up to the ship. It was readily apparent that her new Captain was quite pleased to see the Captain of Serenity again as the two men met, their greeting a strange mix of hand shakes and half completed hugs.

“Good to see you,” Marcus said, grinning widely at Mal.

“Good to be seen,” Mal replied. Sniffing the air, he added, “Smells like something’s gonna be a real treat.”

Marcus nodded enthusiastically, steering Mal toward the grills. Both men stopped in their tracks as Elizabeth called out loudly, “Squeaky!”

“Elizabeth,” Simon said in shock. “When I heard there was a new doctor with the crew, it never occurred to me that…”

“Wait just a minute, doc,” Jayne said, coming up behind them. Turning to Elizabeth, he said, “Did you just call Simon “Squeaky”?”

Elizabeth tried to look apologetic, but failed utterly. “I did,” she replied.

“Mind tellin’ us how you got that nickname?” Jayne asked, eager to needle Simon just a little more.

“Well I…” Simon began, turning an alarming shade of pink.

“And how do you two know each other?” Jayne pressed.

Elizabeth answered. “We went to MedAcad together. And back then, Simon was just so…proper all the time, so prim….that one of the other students said he was ‘squeaky clean’. I suppose the name stuck.”

“As irritating, inane names are wont to do,” Simon said, glaring at Jayne, Mal and Jim, who all stood rooted to the ground looking just about ready to burst into fits of laughter.

“I’m sorry, Simon,” Elizabeth said, patting his arm. “I didn’t mean to just blurt it out like that. I was just surprised to see you.”

“It’s all right, Elizabeth,” he said, smiling warmly. “And as for my merry crewmates, perhaps a little reminder is in order. As the resident medic on Serenity, I am in charge of all the sharp, pointy objects in the infirmary, which objects can and will be used in a manner inconsistent with their original purpose if anyone…and I mean anyone…uses that nickname in referring to me. Dong ma?”

“Oh, he don’t mean it,” Kaylee said, squeezing Simon’s arm sweetly. “He ain’t nothin’ but a big ole squeaky teddy bear.”

No longer able to contain it, the rest of the crew burst into riotous laughter as Simon sighed, thinking that some days it just didn’t pay to meet up with old friends.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal stretched out his long legs in the chair beside Marcus. “That was a mighty fine meal, my friend,” he said, satisfyingly full.

“Glad you liked it,” Marcus replied. “I gotta admit Bear knows his way around a barbecue grill.”

“Surely seems to,” Mal agreed. The two men sat in companionable silence for a moment, looking out at their crews, who were all milling about in the lazy way of folks who had eaten a good meal with good people.

Marcus sighed contentedly. “Those little ones of yours are sure growing fast.”

Mal nodded. “Can’t keep ‘em in clothes that fit. And they’re eating me out of house and home.”

“Work been good?” Marcus asked casually.

“’Bout like usual,” Mal replied.

“Think you might be interested in another joint venture?” Marcus asked.

“What you got in mind?”

Marcus turned his full attention to Mal. “Easy might have another job for us. I’m figuring I’m gonna need a few more hands than usual to get it done right.”

“What’s the job?” Mal asked.

“Got a meeting with Easy tomorrow at noon to discuss it,” Marcus replied. “But if he says what I think he will, the take would be ripe. Enough for both crews to walk away winners, so to speak.” He paused for a moment. “’Course, like normal, we’re most like to get corpsified before the job’s done, at least according to Bear.”

“That a fact?” Mal asked mildly, looking out at the two crews milling about.

“That’s why I figured I’d ask you,” Marcus said. “You seem to have a way of not getting corpsified when by all rights you should be. Useful habit to have, I’m thinking.”

Another long silence fell, punctuated only by the sound of the others chatting amongst themselves and the children running around in the dust.

“So,” Marcus said, drawing out the word into three syllables. “You in? At least for the meeting with Easy?”

Mal looked at him, a hellbent grin curving his lips. “Yep,” he said. “Reckon so.”

Marcus nodded, a mirroring grin on his face.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued