based on the world of Firefly by Joss Whedon --------------------------------

He sat gazing into the sky, eyes slowly falling as his boat rocked him to sleep. Too much good food and drink had made the old captain sleepy, but he had volunteered for a shift in the chair so the rest of the crew could celebrate the New Year. After all, for him now, every year was the same.

They had had a good one though, in essence. Kaylee would be having a little one anytime now and River had been improving since their time on Miranda. Jayne was still antsy to do another big job, even though their last one had set them up rather well. Still, even he knew the money wouldn't last forever. Badger, though a pain in his ass seemed to always deliver and of course, there was always Patience, his shoulder throbbing at the idea.

Soft hands followed by arms slid down his chest as red hair spilled over his neck. He breathed in deep, the smell of rich vanilla and brown sugar causing his full belly to burn with another desire, but right now, he just leaned into her as she purred.

"Thought you needed company." She spoke, a soft, yet sensual voice that reminded him of the animal she was so aptly named after.

"Beautiful women are always welcome on my bridge." He smiled as she sat in the navigator's chair.

"Stars are pretty tonight." She let her green eyes cast a look toward the Black as he took in the dim lights playing with the soft features of her face.

"Ain't the only thing pretty tonight." He smiled as she did, her fangs just barely visible under her lip. "You realize today is the tenth anniversary of the day I met you."

"I remember." He watched as she cast a glance back toward the stars. "Was suppose to kill you that day."

"Never told me why you couldn't. That 'I killed too much today' bullshit ain't gonna fly either. Seen what you and your beast can do. Killing's never been a problem." He reached out to punch a button on the console, draping them in the dark so they could both see the stars better and simply because he knew his lover was more comfortable that way.

"At first, your eyes...they were so kind and I'd ever seen kind eyes before. When I held you in my sights with the rifle, it was your bravery and your sense of humor. The way you treated your men like they were equals and you defended them instead of wanting them to die why you stayed safe. I had never seen that in a leader before."

"Well, Bao Bei, you'd never seen a leader then." He reached out to take her hand and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her. "First time, I saw you, all we'd heard was some red headed devil was killin’ Brown coats. Never once thought that devil was a gorgeous woman, who turned out to be quite a handy thing to have on my side. Now, here I am ten years later with her in my lap starin' into the Black on my gorram boat."

"You got what you wanted, Captain." She sighed leaning into his and resting her head in the crook of his neck.

"I sure did. Might not have been exactly the way I planned on gettin' it. 'Course, I still owe you some diamonds." He smiled as she nuzzled against him.

"I don't need diamonds. Just keep sailing through my ocean and I'll always fly with you." Her eyes closed gently.

Looking at the screen, Captain Reynolds smiled at the time. "Happy New Year, Cat."

"Happy New Year." She mumbled.

His lips curled as he ran a hand through her soft red hair, the smell of it filling his nostrils. Gently, he rocked her as the sky continued to sail by. A moment later, he leaned over and whispered gently. "Never did get you a brown coat."

"I beg to differ." She replied before allowing herself to sleep the rhythm of his heartbeat and the hum of Serenity reminding her she was finally home.