A/n: So I'm emerging from my start of the year school/theatre induced haze and realizing I still havn't finished Ratta Tat Tat. Sorry for the delay but with any luck it could possibly be up before the end of the day. In any case heres something I managed to write between classes.
Acceptance
The day he'd been accepted into med-school the sun had shone a little brighter. There had never really been any doubt but the paper in his hand made it true. Those words had thrown open doors across the galaxy to a future much brighter than the sun. The greatest medical minds had welcomed him into their fold.
He was entering a cold, sterile, world made warm by his bright future.
Years later, that future destroyed, his life ruined, that bright sun a gapping black hole inside his chest, he stumbled onto Serenity. Days later, his life more shattered than ever, on the bridge of a ship kept together more by the crew's love than anything else, Mal made him part of the crew.
The sun didn't shine brighter. He could barely believe the words said, and there was no tangible evidence to prove that he'd been accepted again. New doors were open to him, but mostly hidden behind question marks. The future held no promise for more than just this. A Captain: acceptance. A piece of goso ship: home. A crew: family.
He was entering a cold, dangerous, world made safer by those who choose to share it with him.