The crew of Serenity was sitting around the dining table. Simon couldn’t help but be reminded of the first time he had told a story from this vantage point, standing at the head of the table. There were a couple of differences, though. Book and Wash were both gone, and now River sat with the rest of the crew, looking more like herself than she had been in three years. Kaylee sat next to her, though Simon seemed to be deliberately avoiding her gaze, and then Inara. Mal stood behind the three girls, the only one on his feet other than Simon. Zoe and Jayne were on the other side of the table; the latter was snacking on something dehydrated that looked vaguely like fruit while the former merely stared tersely at Simon. With an enraptured audience, he began to speak. “Her name is Krystal Raine. Krys. She grew up with River and I… she was our best friend.” Simon’s voice had begun to fade. He paused for a moment, but when he began speaking again, his volume had returned to normal. “With any other company, Krys would have been considered intelligent. She wasn’t gifted, but she caught on quickly. The Raine’s were influential, though, and the three of us were thrown together often. It wasn’t surprising that we grew so close.” Another pause. Simon seemed to be collecting his thoughts. “Krys was always more rebellious. She was destined to go into law, like I was to be a doctor. She had only been studying it for a few months when she ran away. River had just started at the Academy.” He nodded to his sister, giving her a chance to speak. However, she seemed content to merely listen, so Simon continued. “I never found out why, and I didn’t hear from her after that. Until now.” The room was dead silent after he had concluded, and it took Simon a moment to realize that everyone was looking at a point directly behind him. He glanced over his shoulder just as a new voice began to speak. “Aw, come on, Simon,” Krystal Raine said from the doorway behind him. “You didn’t even tell them the best part.”