Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly or any of the characters...
Hope lost somewhere along the way, left behind in Serenity. Faith left there too. Dead and buried with the rest. Sometimes he wondered if maybe there was still some left in him. When he saw her he thought there might be. That maybe the world was still good in places, that maybe there was still a purpose for living. When he saw her kneeling and praying, words falling softly from her lips. Words that held meaning for her, words she could believe in. And he remembered a time when words meant something for him as well. He saw her light the incense as lovingly as he used to kiss the gold cross that had once hung around his neck. Dark eyebrows drawn delicately together in concentration. He could remember the time when he used to kneel the same way, hands folded together, concentrating on his prayers. After the war he couldn't quite bring himself to believe in God but watching her part of him wanted to admit that there had to be some higher being. Because he couldn't believe that someone so otherworldly and elegant could be praying in vain. She turned slowly and her eyes met his.
"Mal?"
He was frozen, because in her eyes he saw the hope and faith that he could no longer find in himself.
"I know you don't like it, but I prayed for you."
"Thank you," the words had left his mouth before he realized what he was saying.
Let me know what you think.
