by HiddenSky (mrpointyeatstake@yahoo.com)
Author's Notes: This ficlet was originally written in response to a challenge on the ff_friday community on LiveJournal.
Disclaimer: Firefly and its characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Tim Minear, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century FOX, et al. and I lay no claim to any of it.
*****
The sun was beating down on Malcolm Reynolds' back as he finished unloading the last bale of hay off the truck. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked around his mother's vast ranch on Shadow. There was the babbling brook over yonder behind the clump of trees, the wide grassy plains stretching beyond the horizon, the pens and stables full of cows, pigs, and horses, and of course, the simple clapboard house that stood at the center of it all, flanked by smaller dwellings for the hired help. Only a few more years until he was of age, then it would all belong to him. Malcolm Reynolds, owner of the biggest ranch on Shadow.
It seemed inevitable. His whole life had been spent on the ranch. His momma had liked to say it had been in his blood from the day he was 3 years old and tried to lasso his little wooden horse, only ending up getting himself tangled in the rope in the process. At the age of 5, he learned the fine art of milking a cow, and at 12, had perfected the skill of lassoing a real horse. His 15th birthday present was getting to go on his first cattle drive, which scared Mal to death since he had never been so far from home in his life. Now, two years later, cattle drives were old hat and he had mastered the various duties on the ranch as well as any of the 40 or so hired helpers milling about.
A broad smile crept across his face as he looked around. Mal couldn't imagine any place he'd rather be, except on the ranch. Being there made him feel happy and content...it was like finding serenity. Little did Mal know how the definition of that word would change for him in a few years, and Shadow would be just that - a shadow in the depths of his mind.