…Some time later

Mal smiled from his place at the helm of the ship he had bought many years, and what felt like a lifetime ago, as he looked out at the stars. Even after everything Malcolm Reynolds had been through since the day he had swept up the Firefly class transport ship from the scrap pile, the captain's chair was still the place where the former Sergeant felt the most at peace. Here, with nothing but a thin sheet of reinforced glass between him and the cosmos, the captain felt like he was home.

The captain was so enamored with the view of the 'Verse before him, which was almost, almost, wondrous enough to make Mal reconsider his doubt in the existence of the God he had been raised to believe in, that not even the sound of his First Mate clearing her throat was able to shake the man out of his revelry. Until Zoe Washburne actually spoke, that is. "I hate to interrupt you from enjoying this shiny view, Captain, but I just wanted to inform you that Commander Harken just hailed us on the Cortex. He has "formally requested" that we alter Serenity's course and reduce speed to make way for the emergency transport of wounded Alliance soldiers to the Hippocrates."

Mal sighed. The captain knew that, as his former right hand woman in the war for Independence, and his current first Officer, Zoe would follow him just about anywhere, out of sheer loyalty. But he also knew that Mrs. Washburne had never possessed the same need to travel through space as he did, nor felt the same inexorable pull towards the stars that Mal had possessed since he had first gazed up at the night sky, back on his family's farm on Shadow. There had been a time, the captain sadly recollected, when Zoe had come close to understanding her captain's need to be among the stars, back when his First Mate had been married to the best pilot that Serenity, and possibly, the entire 'Verse, had ever seen.

Mal couldn't count the number of times Zoe had stared transfixed at the red-headed man called Wash, while the pilot told the crew numerous stories about his adventures flying through the 'Verse. Adventures which had started when Wash and his then-best friend, who had later renamed himself "Mr. Universe", had kept getting into trouble together in flight school for pulling pranks on the instructor. During those moments, Mal had seen a light in his best friend's eyes that indicated that she almost understood the hold that the 'Verse, and the need to be among the stars on a regular basis, could have on a person. But Mal had not seen that light in Zoe's eyes since her husband had died.

"Sir? Are you going to change course?"

Mal shook his head as he brought his mind back to the present. "Yeah, yeah. I guess we'd better do what the commander says instead of giving him the slip a third time. Wouldn't want to get on those purplebellies bad side again, now would we?""

Mal changed course, exactly as Zoe directed him to, but there was a smirk on the captain's face as he did so, which was answered by a mirroring look on Zoe's face. "Perish the thought, sir."

Mal frowned. "I never thought I would see the day that we'd be taking orders from them, but I suppose that's the price we pay for making supply runs for a med ship that treats patients from both Alliance and Border worlds."

Zoe shook her head and frowned. "Technically, they're all Alliance worlds, sir."

Mal snorted. "Of course, how could I forget? The Alliance hasn't formally granted the worlds outside the Core independence. They just haven't sent a single soldier, peacekeeper, or military ship out to the Border and Rim worlds in over six months."

The captain allowed himself a small smile as he turned to his first officer. "Honestly? I don't think the Alliance wants another full-scale war in the 'Verse."

Zoe grimaced. "Yet."

Mal sighed. "Yet. Let's just take things one day at a time, Zoe. We've got a boat, we got a crew, albeit a smaller one than I'd like, and for once, we've got enough parts and food for both. Let's leave worrying for when we actually have something to worry about."

Zoe forced a smile. "I suppose you're right, sir. Do you want me to announce we're about to dock?"

Mal shook his head and chuckled. "I've got it." The captain then picked up the com-link and said. "Attention all crew. We are about to dock on the Hippocrates. I don't expect this landing will be that bumpy, so let's not have any undue fuss."

Less than a minute later, an elegantly dressed woman wearing a white dress glided into Serenity's control room while rolling her eyes. "Are the big announcements really still necessary, Mal? Zoe and I are your only crewmembers now."

Mal frowned. "Don't remind me." The captain silently told himself that he badly needed to get Serenity a new mechanic soon, even if she did have a shiny new engine, before he added. "It wouldn't matter if I only had one crew member, Inara. I run my boat, my way, and if that includes making announcements over the comms to my crew, that's what I'm going to' do."

Before Inara could open her mouth to respond, Mal smirked. "And I hope that white dress of yours isn't giving you any ideas, because my wife, my lover, my lady, is the 'Verse…"

Mal frowned as he thought that old tune from Earth-that was didn't quite rhyme during that verse of the song, and he once again wondered if the original, ancient lyrics had been different, when Inara spoke in a sharp tone while drumming her fingers over her larger than usual belly. "Fahn Pi, Mal! That's a shiny thing to say to the mother of your child!"

Zoe smirked. "Inara's got a point, sir. You really should be more respectful of pregnant women."

Mal sighed melodramatically. "Zoe, I never thought you would betray me so."

Zoe almost laughed then, and both Inara and Mal were disappointed that Zoe had not done so, for the former soldier had, by and large, withdrawn back into solemnity and cynicism since leaving Niska's Skyplex; The same solemn mood that had overtaken the dark-skinned woman since Wash's death, right up until the moment Zoe had met Mattie. Since the younger Cobb brother had left for his and Jayne's home planet, the first mate had only had a few moments where she even attempted to smile, or be humorous. And Zoe Washburne hadn't laughed once since that time.

After several awkward seconds, during which it was determined that Zoe wouldn't be letting loose as much as a chuckle anytime soon, Inara smiled and said. "Don't worry, Mal. I'm much too experienced with the ways of men to think I'll be hearing wedding bells anytime soon. And I'm sure me and Hoban Derrial will be just fine sharing you with the 'Verse.."

Mal was about to respond to that when a familiar voice came over the coms and said. "The Captain should focus on flying peace, not conversing with his mate. He's flying too close to the edge of the 'Verse."

Another, less familiar, male voice, then came over the coms, screaming something like, "What have I told you about using this ship's communications equipment without permission, you moon brained girl?!"

Then another familiar voice, a gruff male one, said something like, "I told you, only I'm allowed to call my Fend Le girl that…"

Thankfully, Malcolm was familiar enough with his former crewmember's odd speech just in time to ascertain the first individual's meaning, and he readjusted Serenity's course just in time to avoid hitting the side of the hangar, even as the unfamiliar voice said something Mal couldn't quite make out. The captain sighed in relief. "Um…thanks."

The bridge officer on the other end of the line spoke in a proud voice. "No problem whatsoever, Captain Reynolds. That Tian Di Wu Yowng keeps sneaking into the control room for some reason, and…"

Mal rolled his eyes as he said. "I was talking to the girl, Chwen! Your purple belly friend gave me a bad course heading, and I almost slammed against your ship's hull before River warned me to keep my bearings."

The bridge officer on the other side of the line cleared his throat. "Oh. Sorry about that, Captain. I will have a word with Commander Harken about that later."

Malcolm shook his head as his ship landed in the hangar. "You do that. And, officer whatever your name is? I've found that it's often best to listen to Miss Tam when she speaks her mind."

"Understood."

The voice on the other end of the line was gruff and irritated now, but Malcolm paid the officer's tone no mind as he replied. "Good. Now if we're done jawing around, could you send some of your men down here and start unloading some of this cargo for us, please?"

After Mal and his two crew members exited the ship, the captain leaned against the side of one of Serenity's engines as he watched the Hippocrates' crew do just that, and smiled. There was a time when Serenity's crew would have needed to unload cargo from the ship themselves, since smuggling operations usually required as few people to be in the know about what was going on as possible. But legal transport jobs didn't require the same level of secrecy as smuggling contraband, so labor could be divided between dock workers and Serenity's crew. Of course, legal jobs didn't pay nearly as well. But then again, Mal thought to himself, money hadn't been a problem to him, or any of his crew, for a while.

The Captain's thoughts were cut off however, by a familiar, cheerful voice as Mal's favorite mechanic ran up to him from another room and hugged him. "Captain!"

"Kaylee!" A man yelled from another room in an exasperated tone. Moments later, Simon Tam entered the hangar of the Hippocrates, and then came to a stop right in front of Mal and Kaylee while gasping for air. "I told you not to run in your condition!"

At that moment, Mal glanced down at the abdomen of the woman who was trying (for Mal's posture had stiffened when Kaylee had tried to draw him into an embrace) to hug him, and noticed that Kaylee's stomach was, indeed, a little more distended than the last time he met her. "Kaylee…."

Kaylee rolled her eyes as she pulled away from Malcolm Reynolds. "Don't you start! I get enough go se from Simon about being preggers. Just because I have a bun in the oven don't mean I have to be treated like an invalid!"

Malcolm cleared his throat. "All I was going to say is that you're looking…healthy."

Kaylee laughed. "That's a shiny way to say I'm getting fat, captain!"

The mechanic sighed. "I was actually trying to eat less and lose weight for a while there, before Miranda, but Simon and our little boy here…"

"Girl." Simon tried to interrupt his girlfriend.

But Kaylee would have none of it as she glared at Simon. "Boy. Anyway, they had other plans. Now Simon won't even make an honest woman of me because he don't want a fat wife."

Simon sighed heavily. "Gorramit! I told you that wasn't the reason! Not that I want you to get fat or anything, because that could lead to all kinds of health problems, like diabetes, and hypertension, and…"

Kaylee rolled her eyes as she patted her belly. "My little boy's father is such a shiny speaker…"

Simon huffed. "My point is, that's not why I don't want to marry you! I don't think you're going to get fat, Kaylee. At least, I don't think you'll gain more weight than most pregnant women do, since none of your family I recently met are obese, and…Captain, help me here!"

Mal chuckled and shook his head. "Sorry. I'm not your captain no more, so I've got no mind to put myself in the middle of yours and Kaylee's domestic troubles."

Simon rolled his eyes, sighed, and turned to his girlfriend, who now had her arms crossed in front of her chest, then said. "I just don't think we're ready for getting married. Marriage is a big step, and we haven't even been courting a year."

Kaylee glared at Simon again. "So we've been dating long enough for you to knock me up, but not long enough to get married?"

Simon grunted in frustration. "Exactly! Look, I promise I will take care of you, and I will always look out for our child, no matter what happens, but you being pregnant doesn't mean we have to get married right away. I mean, my parents lived together for a year after having me, before they got married, and I turned out just fine.'

Kaylee's glare didn't leave her face as she replied. "You mean, apart from you having the tact of a Buhn Dahn and having to go on the run from the Alliance with your sister for a year because your own parents wouldn't believe that purplebellies were torturing River for so long?!"

Simon looked around nervously at the people around him, some of whom were Alliance personnel, which were in the hangar. "Kaylee, keep your voice down. My sister and her Kai Tze cause us enough problems with the Alliance…"

"Only because messing with purplebellies is so gorram fun, ain't it, River?"

Simon, as well as several of the dock workers, sighed as Jayne walked into the hunger, then the doctor muttered. "And here they come…."

Just as Simon said this, River Tamm popped out of an air vent several feet above the hangar, somersaulted several times in the air, then landed on all fours, distributing her impact on the ground equally between all four of the brunette's limbs. River Tam, who everyone noticed was accompanied by an overly powerful, sweet smell, then smiled widely and said "Yes. She had great fun gluing the posterior of Captain violet gut to his chair today.! He won't comprehend what happened until his shift ends."

Mal, Kaylee and Inara all smiled despite themselves, Zoe smirked, and Jayne bursted out laughing while saying. "That's my Guay Toh Guay Nown!" And Simon just sighed again and shook his head.

River's smile soon faded into a frown as she turned to Jayne and said. "How did her mate know she was there? She was sure to be silent as rats in the healer's airway."

Jayne smirked as he pulled an apple out his pocket and took a bite. "The expression is "quiet as a mouse", princess moon brain. And you were that. But a real tracker uses all of his senses." Jayne tapped his nose.

River glared at her fiancée. "Man called Jayne gave the woman the gift of Chanel so that she could not sneak up on him during their games of hide and seek!"

Jayne just laughed harder at that. "I just gave you the perfume, Feng le girl! It ain't my fault you decided to use the whole gorram bottle in one day! I don't even know why you asked for that Yu Bun Duh stuff, to be honest. You're enticing enough without it."

The bare-footed woman's frown quickly turned into a smile as she stole the apple from Jayne's hand, then bit into it. "Yes, woman did not need sweet scents when he tasted her fruit, and his seed is already growing inside her…"

Mal groaned. "You have got to be kidding me! When did everyone on my crew of miscreants become so gorram domesticated that all our women are pregnant!?"

Zoe gave the captain a look, so Mal shrugged and said. "Almost all of our women. Sorry."

This prompted Kaylee to gasp, then look at both River and Inara. "You're both pregnant?! Shiny! I guess my plans for a baby shower are going to have to expand…"

But Jayne and River where only focused on each other as the former gulped. "Wait…You're pregnant?! You didn't tell me you was pregnant! Wait… That means you had no business running around air vents, and jumping from that high up while carrying a child!"

River shrugged and continued eating the apple, with the smile not leaving her face as she spoke between bites. "Girl…woman…did…not…know…she was…heavy with… her mates' child…seventy five ticks...of time's face ago."

Simon's eyes widened. "Wait. You're telling me that you just realized you are pregnant now? Without a pregnancy test?"

River rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Don't be such a boob, Simon."

Simon laughed nervously. "Oh, good. I thought you were being serious when you said that you were pregnant with that Yu Bun Duh's child!"

River glared at Simon and spoke. "She meant that the woman only knew her mate had given her the gift of life 106 seconds ago."

Jayne went pale as Simon shook his head. "How…how could this happen!? I've made sure you were on birth control pills since I got you out of the Academy!"

River laughed, but their seemed to be pain, mixed with her joy as she did so. "Poor Ghuh! He was so careful when unraveling the mysteries of her mind, he did not see all of the changes Purplebellies made to woman's body! Old men didn't want handful of weapons, they wanted an entire arsenal…"

Jayne's eyes widened and his teeth clenched. " Are you saying…The Alliance wanted a whole army of psychic killers, so they made you, and the other kids at the Academy, more fertile so they could breed one?!"

River nodded sadly. "Yes. But the breeding program was canceled after I escaped because old men with blood on their hands became afraid of losing control of their arsenal."

A single tear escaped River's eye as the psychic smiled sadly. "Now all of the other weapons are firing blanks."

Mal frowned. "What the hell is your sister talking about, Simon?"

Simon shook his head. "I'm not sure."

"I know exactly what she's talking about!" Jayne growled, and then shook his head. "A few days back, while you were helping another patient, doc, the Alliance had me and River guarding this blonde kid that had been freed from the Academy, and was scheduled to go under the knife with another doctor to treat some injuries he had sustained there. Little Hwen Dan nearly took my head clean off with a scalpel he pulled off the surgeon, but River put her hand on blondie's shoulder, and calmed him down, enough for me to take the scalpel and strap the kid to the operating table, without saying a word. I've never seen anything like it!"

River smiled as she continuously rubbed her stomach. "Readers can open their books to each other. Raul saw the story of me, and my little ones, who all grow up on a small shipping rock, spinning around a little star, under the watchful eye of their daddy."

River gave Jayne a serious look. "I showed Raul the little ones' mother is the only weapon which still fires, but she is a moon brain who chose to stay broken so she could keep hearing the music of the spheres. She is too damaged to guard her little ones on her own. They will not last very long with without man called Jayne."

A single tear fell from Jayne's face then, and if anyone else saw it before Jayne quickly wiped it away, they didn't say anything before River finished speaking. "Raul saw that man called Jayne had to live for readers' future to be preserved."

Simon's eyes widened. "They didn't?! River, are you telling me that all of the other children at the Academy were permanently sterilized after I broke you out of that gorram Guai?!"

River nodded, and then patted her belly. "She is mother of all readers now, although she is little more than a weapon. But with her mate's help, she will make sure that little ones have a better life than the always flowing River…"

Jayne nodded, then took River's hand. "They will. I swear it. With the life I've lead, with how careful I've been with…" Jayne coughed, and River gave him a grateful smile for not voicing his crude thoughts about rutting aloud. "Anyway, I never counted on being no father. But I will do the best I know how by you and our kids. And I think that means I can't be in a field as dangerous as security anymore. I want to take you and ours someplace safer for raising kids. Someplace peaceful."

River smiled at Jayne. "Man called Jayne means to take her home."

Simon frowned. "Home? River,…this is your home! Here, on the Hippocrates, with me, Kaylee…" the young doctor sighed and conceded, "and Jayne."

River shook her head. "The River's home is with man called Jayne and her little ones, the one taking root inside her, and those yet to be planted. Simon's place is on board the healer with Kaylee and their little ones. The woman and her Ghuh will see each other again many more times, sure as the turning of the worlds. But she must go to her mate's clan now."

Mal nodded. That he understood. "Jayne's going to introduce you to his mother and siblings."

Jayne nodded, then scratched his bear. "Yeah…um…thing is River…you're quite a bit younger than me, and…since I got you preggers and all…and I don't want my ma to think I took advantage of you or nothing…and because I was planning to give this to you one of these days anyway, um…"

Zoe smirked at Jayne's awkwardness as he lowered himself onto his left knee, thought better of it, then switched to supporting himself with his right, before he pulled a box out the pants pocket which was on the opposite side as the one the apple had been in. But neither Mal, nor Simon, were laughing as Inara and Kaylee gave pointed looks to their respective mates..

But Jayne and River were heedless of the reactions of the others as Jayne opened the box to reveal a small, yellow-gold ring, with a tiny stone on its mount. The former mercenary then cleared his throat. "River Tam…will you marry me?"

At first, River's only reply was a bright smile on her face, which lasted several seconds. Then, without warning, the psychic bend down to Jayne's level, and crashed her lips against her boyfriend's, initiating a deep kiss that lasted over a minute. Then, after exactly sixty three seconds of bliss, during which time everyone else's eyes had turned away, and Simon had coughed dramatically several times, River pulled away, ending the kiss as quickly as it had begun, causing Jayne, whose eyes had naturally closed to fall forward, since River's body was no longer leaning against his to hold the former mercenary up,

"Gorramit it!" Jayne swore as he felt himself fall forward, then opened his eyes just in time to see his still puckered lips were about to hit the ground…

Until two small, but deceptively strong, arms quickly shot forward to slow Jayne's decent before his face lightly landed on the floor of the hangar. Despite this save, however, Jayne still glared at his rescuer and said." Damn it, River! What did you do that for?"

"He made a face! He will have to be quicker with the little ones!" River laughed, then quickly showed off the ring which was already on her left ring finger, at which point Jayne realized that his fiancée had, at some point in the last minute or so, snatched the precious item out of the box and put it on her own hand. River then gave Jayne a saucy grin and said with a mischievous look in her eyes. "She will see man called Jayne when he gets off his security shift, and will pay her betrothed back for the trouble she caused him."

River Tam then literally skipped away from the hangar while simultaneously rubbing her stomach and humming a song that vaguely sounded like a nursery rhyme. Jayne shook his head and sighed, but there was a smile on his face when he said. "That gorram woman is going to be the death of me!"

Zoe smirked. "Maybe. But that Feng Le is you problem now!"

Jayne shrugged and smiled. "Yeah, well…there are worst problems to have, I guess."

Simon's mouth opened a little, and for the second time in his life, the young doctor thought he was going mad as he said. "Did…did Jayne just propose to my sister?"

Kaylee rolled her eyes, Mal and Zoe smirked, and Inara shot Simon an amused, but sympathetic, grin as Jayne said. "You know I'm standing right here, doc! And yeah, I asked for your sister's hand, and she said yes. Get over it."

Simon shook his head. "Yeah…sorry, just…how did this happen!? Why…?"

Jayne shrugged. "What can I say? I lo…Your sister means a great deal to me. And…I got River preggers, and I've got to do right by her now. I'm not perfect by a long shot, but I'm not going to run the Cobb name down by not marrying the mother of my child!"

Once again, Kaylee and Inara gave their significant other's a look, Jayne became visibly annoyed, Simon looked flabbergasted, and Zoe just smirked at the whole display until Simon got the nerve to speak again. "But…but you must have slept with a dozen whores before you and my sister got close!"

Jayne snickered. "It's funny that you've think it was only a dozen, doc!" The former mercenary's face quickly became serious. "But I never loved any of them. Not the way I love River. And I never got any of those doxies pregnant, either."

Simon shook his head. "How do you know that?"

Jayne snorted. "Because I ain't an idiot, that's why! I always used protection with whores, just like I got myself tested frequently!"

Simon nodded. He knew that condoms had been 100% effective at preventing pregnancies for a couple centuries now, and modern designs were so idiot-proof, even Jayne could not have failed to use them correctly. . When he used them. Unfortunately, all the contraceptives in the 'Verse could not override human instinct and impulsivity…as he and Kaylee, Malcolm and Inara, and, apparently, Jayne and River, had recently found out first hand.

Jayne shook his head and grinned. "Imagine that! Me…a father!"

The former mercenary turned security chief turned to Mal. "It's been real nice catching up to you, captain. But I got to finish my shift. And I got so much to do after that! I got to see about finding a safer job, because I know that I'll go crazy without something to do, but I want to be around for my kid, send a wave to my ma, plan a visit back to the old homestead on Beowulf so that I can introduce River to my family… I'm gorram rich now, and I've never been so busy in my entire life!"

Jayne then walked away from the hangar causing Simon and Mal to look at each other, and then at their respective girlfriends. Inara just smirked at Mal, but Kaylee's response was a little more verbose. "Well, it looks like Jayne Cobb knows how to make an honest woman of his lady! A shame more men in the 'Verse aren't like that."

Simon sighed and shook his head. "Please do not compare me to Jayne, of all people! I wanted to have this conversation in private but since you insist on doing this now…Look, I respect that Jayne wants to do right by my sister, I really do, but their relationship is completely different, and more disturbing, than ours!"

Kaylee crossed her arms. "I don't see how. They're a man and woman in love, just like you and me!"

Simon frowned for a second then replied. "Yeah, but when…if. River marries Jayne, she'll have Jayne's family to lean on when he isn't around! You heard him. Jayne's going to take my sister back to his home planet now that they're engaged! Hopefully, he'll wait until River's had her baby onboard the Hippocrates first, and I'll be able to get in touch with the local doctor where Jayne's family lives, to tell them how to take care of River, but she'll be around family! If you marry me, you and our child will be alone a lot as I'm busy treating injured refugees from all over the 'Verse. Your folks are back on Regina, and if we're lucky, we'll be able to see them once a year! Same for my parents, who went back to Osiris to help stabilize that planet after the riots. Every few years or so, this ship might stop at Beowulf to get more parts, and we'll get to see my sister and River then, but…if you marry me, you and our child will be alone a lot, just like River and I were as children! Are you sure that's the kind of future you want?"

Kaylee frowned, and then shook her head. "Simon…we're not your parents. You're still a doctor, and as soon as I have this little one…"Kaylee patted her distended stomach. "I'm going right back to being a mechanic. Because our work is part of who we are. But it's not all we are! We can have jobs, and have kids, and be married folk! My folks both work and they managed to raise me and my siblings just fine, and even your parents weren't able to mess you and River up too badly…"

Simon rolled his eyes. "Thanks…"

Kaylee sighed heavily. "You know what I mean! I love you Simon, and you love me! That's reason enough for us to get hitched, especially when we have a kid on the way!"

Simon sighed. "Kaylee…it's just not that sim…"

But Kaylee didn't even let her boyfriend finish that sentence, as she quickly pulled Simon into a deep kiss lasting almost a minute, and then promptly pulled away, leaving Simon with a shocked expression as Kaylee smirked at Simon and said. "Yeah, it is. "

Kaylee's face took on a serious expression as she added while rubbing her stomach. "Simon Tam, I will be expecting a proper proposal within a month, and a wedding before this baby is born. I don't ask you for much, but by the 'Verse, I'm asking for this. For my sake, for our new family' sake...Don't let me down."

Simon gulped. "I won't."

Simon's words caused Kaylee to smile, give Simon another, five second, kiss, then grab a bemused Simon Tam by the arm as the young couple started walking out of the hangar as the mechanic called out to Mal. "See you later, Captain! My future hubby and I need to go celebrate our future union now, but I'll see you and Inara the next time you deliver med supplies!"

Inara smiled as Kaylee dragged Simon away from the loading bay. "Didn't Jayne say something in his last wave about the Hippocrates docking at Beowulf to drop off medical supplies in about a month?"

Malcolm nodded. "I believe he did. He and River will probably depart to join with his family then. Zoe, didn't you say Serenity needed to get new parts soon?"

Zoe frowned. "Hard to say, captain. I'm not Kaylee. But if the logs she kept are up to date, there are a few parts that will need replacing, but not for a few months or so."

Mal shrugged. "That may be so, but Kaylee wrote those records for herself, and she always knew how to stretch Serenity's engines past their breaking point. Without a mechanic, we're going to need new parts sooner rather than later, and Beowulf is a factory world that has its fair share of them. And who knows? We might even be able to pick up a new mechanic or two while we're there."

Zoe smirked. "And I'm guessing you'll be wanting to do that a month from now, sir?"

Mal smirked back. "I don't see why not. A thorough maintenance job on Serenity could take a few days. Might as well get that done when there are other people to converse with. After all, I'm sure it gets a mite boring for you ladies, only having me to talk to all the time on board the ship."

Inara had to use every ounce of the discipline she had developed during her Companion training not to laugh at that statement, and even Zoe smirked so wide, she seemed to be holding back a chuckle when she said. "Not a bit, sir. But a change of scenery now and again never hurt anyone."

Inara smirked as the captain said, "I suppose not."

Then the former Companion walked up next to Zoe and said "Speaking of scenery…I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing Mattie again…."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Please. Mattie and I are just friends. And I would rather not meet Jayne Cobb's entire gorram family, anyway. I'll be staying far away from the Cobbs after we dock on Beowulf."

Mal shook his head. "Now, Zoe, we don't want to be unsociable, do we? Besides, apart from working, you haven't left the ship in months. It'll do you good to be around other folk again, and I won't hear a word against it, Dohn Ma?"

Zoe sighed, then half-smiled and nodded. "Dohn."

After Serenity's first mate walked back into the ship, Inara smiled at Mal and said. "I think it's very sweet that you're still trying to get Zoe and Mattie together. But don't push too hard. Sometimes these things have to happen on their own."

Mal shook his head. "Easy for you to say, you're not the one who has to put up with having a grumpy first mate as s copilot eight hours a day. And if I have to watch Zoe stare longingly at those silly plastic dinosaurs on the console one more time..."

Mal shook his head. "All I'm saying is, Hoban Washburne was a good man, and as far as I'm concerned, he was the best pilot in the 'Verse. But if there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that he wouldn't want us moping over losing him for years on end. Zoe needs to move on…we all do."

Inara gently took Mal's hand. "You're a good friend, Mal."

Malcom shrugged. "I guess. I haven't been a good boyfriend though. Making you gallivant from one end of the 'Verse to the other in your condition without even offering you my hand…"

Inara shook her head. "Mal…I knew exactly what I signed up for when you and I got together. I knew you wouldn't give up the stars for me."

Mal sighed. "Like you gave up being a who…a Companion, for me?"

Inara smirked. "Don't flatter yourself, Mal. I didn't risk my status in the Guild for your account. I helped you get the word out about Miranda to help River, and because it was the right thing to do! Somebody had to answer for what happened to all of those people!"

Mal nodded and smiled. "And somebody did. After 'Walking Alongside the Tams' aired , people finally got angry enough that a lot of those gorram purple bellies in Parliament got ousted onto their pi gus and some of them more directly involved with the PAX project and the Academy even got jail time. If it were up to me, they would have been swinging from the gallows instead, and Parliament would have been permanently disbanded. But the Alliance is gone from the Border and Rim, for now. And that was what Zoe and I fought for in the first place. So as far as victories go…"

Mal shrugged. "I'll take it. But that don't mean that things can go back to the way they were. Shadow's still gone. And even if it weren't…The naive farm boy who signed up to fight in the war for Independence…he's long gone, Inara. I've seen most of the 'Verse since then, the good and the bad, and even though there's a whole hell of a lot of bad…there's too much good out there to see for me to want to settle down in any one place for very long. Maybe one day, that won't be so, and I'll get tired of rambling among the stars and want to settle down somewhere. Maybe even pick up farming again. "

Mal sighed and shook his head, and Inara, who could tell that what Mal was saying was important to him, stayed silent as Mal concluded his thought. "But that's not how it is now. My wandering days aren't done yet, and I think I would go Feng Le trying to stay in one place too long. But a life in the big black ain't no place for a child…or a wife."

Inara shook her head. "Like I said, I knew what I was signing up for with you, Malcolm Reynolds. I left the Companion Academy because I wanted to see the 'Verse too. Because I wanted to have more experiences, different experiences, than one building, one world, could offer me. And I want that for our child too, Mal. I want our little boy, at least I think it is a boy, to experience all the 'Verse has to offer before he comes of age, and has to decide what to do with his life. The Companions Guild gave me a good education, Mal. For all of the numerous things they took from me, they at least gave me that, even if it was so I would be better at entertaining rich socialites. I can pass that education on to Hoban, and you can provide our child the stars, for as long as you want that, while he figures out his place in the 'Verse, with a whole universe of choices that I was never given when I was growing up! Everything else…"

Inara sighed lightly. "You and I can figure out together, Mal. But married or unmarried, on Serenity, or on a farm, I want us to raise this child together! I want your word that the three of us…"

Inara patted her belly. "Will be a family,"

Mal sighed and nodded. "Fine. I have no clue how to raise a child, in the gorram black, no less, but if anybody could help me figure it out, it would be you. And if we are going to be parents together, then…" Mal put his hands in the pockets of his brown coat for several seconds, then swore. "Gorram it! I must have left it in my room. Just…give me a minute!"

Then the captain of Serenity ran towards his cabin as quickly as he could, cursing himself as he did so, leaving a smirking Inara to wander back inside Serenity and wait in a hallway until Mal shouted. "Found it!" Then the captain came running out his room, almost barreling into the mother of his child as he did so, while holding a small, shiny object up in the air with a look of triumph on his face.

"I want you to have this, Inara."

Mal's face became more serious again as he held the object in his hand out to Inara, who shook her head and said, "That's sweet, Mal. But I told you that's not necessary…"

Mal shook his head and spoke in a firm tone. "It is, actually. My ma had to raise me herself since I was quite young, because my dad…Let's just say he wasn't around no more. But he at least had the decency to let my mom keep this when he left. It's the only thing he left us, actually."

Mal pointed to the silver, circular item in his left hand, which had a small ruby attached to it, then added. "And after...what happened to Shadow, this ring was the only thing I was able to salvage from the rubble of the family farm. It's all I have left of my family. And since you've decided to keep our baby, and become part of that family, I think it's only right that you should have it, now. Maybe with your help, I could be the father that my dad wasn't."

Inara raised her right eyebrow. "Was that your attempt at a proposal, Mal?"

Mal scratched the back of his head before shaking it. "No, this is…"

The captain got to one knee and said. "Inara, would you do me the honor of being Mrs. Reynolds?"

When Inara glared at the captain, Mal stuttered. "I mean…the second Mrs. Reynolds…not that you're second best to anyone, or anything just…"

Inara rolled her eyes, then smiled at the captain as she put her right index finger over his mouth. "If I go ahead and say yes, will you stop falling over yourself trying to propose to me?"

Mal gulped after Inara removed her finger from his lips . "Yes."

Inara smirked. "Then, yes. I will marry you, Malcolm Reynolds."

Mal's eyes widened for a moment as he smiled widely while rising from the ground. "You will?"

But the captain's surprise was short lived, and the man quickly cleared his threat and put a stoic look on his face. "Well, good then."

The captain turned around and was about to walk away, before Inara spoke in a tone that was half joking, half annoyance. "Aren't you forgetting something, Mal?"

"Right." Malcolm Reynold's quickly turned around with a slight blush on his cheeks that quickly vanished after the captain cleared his throat again, and then quickly put the small ring in his hands onto Inara's left ring finger.

Mal shrugged and looked towards the ground. "I, um…I know it's not a diamond, or anything. Come to think of it, I really should have bought you a diamond ring instead, seeing as I can afford to now, but I just thought…"

Inara smiled and quickly drew Mal into a quick, five second kiss, then drew away and smiled. "It's perfect, Mal,"

Malcolm Reynolds smiled as he watched his fiancée walk away with his ring on her finger. The captain couldn't help but think that, if he had been told, right after the end of the war for independence, that his life would turn out as peaceful as it had, that he would never have believed the one who told him. And if anyone had told him, back then, that he would actually be working with the Alliance to help deliver humanitarian aid to worlds all across the 'Verse, he would have laughed at that person, then punched them in the face. But as the captain of Serenity watched several Alliance personnel load crates of select medicines into the ships haul, to be delivered to several planets across the 'Verse, as part of his deal with the Alliance to leave him and his crew alone, Mal shook his head in disbelief that was exactly what was now happening.

Breaking out of his revelry, Mal walked back to Serenity's bridge sat in the captain's chair for a few minutes, and then withdrew the ramp after making sure that all cargo and crew were safely onboard Serenity. And this time, Zoe, who had made her way back to the seat next to Mal, actually chuckled when Mal got on the intercom and spoke. "Now hear this! We may not be smuggling any more, but we still got a lot of medicine to deliver to a lot of worlds, and some of it's actually worth stealing. So keep your wits about you, look out for pirates, and if the ride gets bumpy, well…we don't have a mechanic no more, so there's not a gorram thing I can do about except hope we don't…explode."

Zoe rolled her eyes, and the captain thought he could hear Inara groaning in exasperation from somewhere near the back of the ship, but Mal shrugged their reactions off. He had never sugar –coated things for his crew before, and he wasn't about to start now…even if none of them were fugitives now. Still, Mal was glad that, even without crime lords, Reavers (the remainder of which had been almost entirely wiped out by the Alliance by now), or the Alliance to fight against, his crew, Serenity, and himself still had purpose. And that was helping other people. After doing one last check to make sure the precious medical supplies in his cargo hold were secure, Mal primed Serenity's ignition sequence as he muttered a single sentence in a voice so quiet, Zoe could barely hear it from her seat next to the captain's own chair. "Let's be good guys!"

The End

AN: Readers, if you have made it all the way to the end of this decidedly un-Firefly like story set in the Firefly/Serenity universe, I appreciate both your patience (for putting up with my imperfect writing, which is nowhere near Joss Whedon's level, despite the man's other shortcomings), and persistence (for reading every chapter, including this, somewhat saccharin, final one). I would especially like to thank Hawki, bjq, and Sooty85 for reviewing the previous chapter of my story. Also, I would just like to say I'm sorry if this isn't the ending some of you wanted, as I'm aware this final chapter probably doesn't "feel" very much like Firefly due to how optimistic it is, but this is the only way I felt this story, which I created with a purposely ridiculous premise, could end.

For this reason, I realized, as the story reached its end, that although I may have borrowed some of the Firefly characters and setting for "Walking Alongside the Tams" this tale's tone would not let it be a proper Firefly story, and it could not have a proper Firefly ending, no matter how much I tried to tweak the last few chapters to make one (and I really, really tried, for over a year, to do so). So if you're disappointed by the ending, just know that I am too. But it's the only ending I felt fit the tone of the story itself.

I would also like to apologize for taking so absurdly long to get the last few chapters of this story out. Between the aforementioned issues with story tone, a massive cause of writer's block, not having my own computer for months, and other, more personal issues, these last few chapters were a terror to write. But this story, for good or for ill, is finally finished. There will not be another chapter, an epilogue, or a sequel, because frankly, I just don't have it in me to keep doing the mental gymnastics required to write this non-Firefly story any longer. For those of you who have stuck with this story since I posted this first chapter, you have my profound thanks for your unmatched patience and unwavering support. For all of my readers that gave up on this story because I took so long to finish, I understand, and I don't blame them in the slightest. For anyone "lucky" enough to have found this story only after the last chapter was posted, thank you for reading my story through to the end. And to all my readers: thank you for reading, and all of the reviews that you have given this story since I posted my first chapter. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

And of course, a very special thank you goes out to my beloved beta-reader, who wouldn't let me give up on this story, no matter how many times I was tempted to do so while writing the last few chapters. You, and your inspiration, mean the worlds to me!

Thanks again for reading!

-supercode