Zoe served her Captain through rough patches and smooth sailing. Through war-time and peace-time, she stuck by his side. She was a good soldier and she was loyal to him. Throughout the many years that she served beside him, her loyalty never waned. Truth is, that was why Mal forbade her from marrying Wash in the first place. He knew that the day she did, her loyalty shifted. Mal knew, even if Wash did not, that Zoe would always choose her husband over her Captain. It was the natural way of things. It was right.
Zoe sat in her bunk and stared at her favorite picture. It was one of her and Wash taken at their wedding. She took a shaky breath as she reached out and touched Wash's smiling face. It would have been their fifth anniversary today. She smiled as she remembered the vows they had taken. Promises to love each other and stick together through thick and thin. She may not have pledged her obedience, but she did pledge her loyalty to the only man she ever had and ever would love.
There were days when she wondered if she would ever be as loyal to Mal as she used to be. Then there were days when she wondered if she needed to be.
Yesterday was one of the latter. They pulled off a job on Beylix, and for the first time Mal ordered Zoe to stay on board the ship. It might have been her swollen pregnant belly that gave him an excuse, but as she watched River climb in the mule next to him, she knew it wasn't the reason. Just like her loyalty had shifted when she fell in love with Wash, Mal's loyalty was shifting too.
Zoe smiled as she picked up the picture and cradled it in her arms.
"Looks like you were right, husband," she said quietly. "I just wonder when he's gonna realize it, too."