Authors Note: Firefly should never have been cancels, for

the first and foremost obvious reason: it is excellent and

far superior to all other shows! ((besides....i have the

habit of saying 'shiny' now.........though i haven't picked

up swearing in chinese...yet....lol)) At any rate, this is,

obviously, a fan fiction. it is not a fan script. it is a

fan fiction. (well, duh). It is meant to pick up where the

show left off. Enjoy. (i hope.) Review. (yes. do.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~

Prolouge:

Things were different, now. There was a disorder to the

ship, intangible, yet evident. On the surface, it was as

well-mantained as ever. But to Kalee, it seamed that no one

aboard new how to act without the illusive, subdued Inara

there to raise her eyebrows and interject rueful comments

now and then, her forehead crinkled in disdain or scorn.

Only Jaynne was left unscathed. Although, Kalee noted

disgustedly, he'd been watching her more lately. She

suppressed a shudder at the thought. Mal had been hit the

worst, it seamed. Without the opportunity to quarrel softly

with Inara about her profession, egging her on, anything for

an outlet to his realms of chronic tenacity. More than that,

anything to stay a moment longer, enveloped her scent.

Anything to stay a moment a longer, breathing in that scent,

breathing in her eyes through his, feeling silk almost as

vibrant as she beneath his touch.....mostly he looks for

opportunities to not-so-softly quarrel with anyone, about

anything, all the time.

Inara.....

((The Law of the Inverse of Inara, as told by Kalee))

What she told Mal, when he was still compiling the crew:"of

course I will. Because you want me here. I can bring the

ship something the others cannot. Diginity."....well, we've

all laughed about that. From the mouth of a companion. From

the mouth of....you can fill in the blank. We all know the

less kind words. Now, we still laugh. We're still laughing

at the irony. But it's a different irony we laugh at now.

The funny thing is, she's right.

Now, I recline against the bed frame. Not my bed; Inara's. I

like to sit in her chambers. It's tranquil: remembering. All

the silk and scents remain. Only Inara herself is missing.

Jaynne spots me now and then and I know what he's thinking:

how can I possibly lie on the bed of a......companion? I

like to think of it in terms of desks. When you are a little

kid, at school, you share desks. Musical chairs, day in, and

day out. You don't know what's happened there, but if you're

not thinking about it, what does it matter?

I furl my hands about a coffee mug. This, at least, is mine.

I've painted it: a smudged replica of the sign that hangs,

heralding those who wish to visit my room. I smile. It's

become a comfort object. I always hated mug warmers; they

defeated the propose. The coffee experience is one part

caffeine, one part steam wafting up your nostrils, one part

scorching hands, and only one part coffee. For a moment, I

close my eyes.

Serenity.

Why would you ever want to leave serenity?

Inara said that once, too.

Mal told me.

I sigh. My lids flutter open. I suppress a yawn; it's

getting late. It's been rather dull lately- uneventful. I

glance towards the entranceway-exit way, what have you-

contemplating getting up. And start, sitting rather bolt

upright.

Mal is there. Silhouetted against the door frame. Arms

crossed. Face grim, mostly expressionless. I wonder how long

he's been standing there. I gulp.

His arms uncross, fall to his sides. It's a habit of his. He

takes a half stride forward.

"What is it, captain?" I manage, squirming under his gaze of

intense gravity.

"How long have you been here?" he asks.

"A while...I.....I come here a lot...."

I falter. Why is making me so nervous? He looks haggard;

hardly a threat. Besides, he's Mal , unrelenting.....but not

cruel. An odd combination.

Something in in the line of his jaw softens, he seams to

relax a notch. Tentatively, he walks closer. I draw my knees

up to my chest, resting my coffee on their crest. Waiting.

"May I sit down?" he inquires. It's a funny request, if you

ask me.

"It's Inara's bed." I state absently.

He stays where he is.

I blink. Inara loved Mal. Mal loved Inara. They could never

admit it....but didn't they see it? I shake my head in

amazement. "Sit." I command, with a well-humored smile I

simply can't surprises.

The corner of Mal's mouth twitches, but it's not really a

smile. He sits at the end of the bed, heaves a labored sigh,

and folds his hands on his knees. Eyes downcast, he

drawls:"why would you ever want to leave serenity?"

My heart aches for him. I understand. Simon and I....Mal and

Inara...almost mirror images. Gingerly, I take his hand. He

looks up, startled. "I can't say I know, Captain." I say. "I

don't know how you could need anything more than serenity."

"Yeah." He's silent, for a moment. "I don't know either."

Suddenly, the world shakes. I am thrown violently against

Mal. An earthquake. Only not, of course. Something's wrong

with Serenity!!!

Something's wrong with serenity!

That about says it all.

The breath catches in my throat. Mal helps me up. I see him

swallow. I feel myself turning red, realizing how close to

him I'd landed. For that matter, how close I was to him,

period. "I'll go check the engine....."

Mal nodded. "I'll go check on wash."

He grimaced. But then....he smiled.

He jumped up, shuffled briskly out towards the control room.

I felt confused. Saddened, for no reason at all.

Serenity lurches again.

This time, Mal isn't there to catch me.

Right.

I spring to my feat and head for the engine.

The engine is stuttering. There is no other way to describe

it. I studied it in vauge bewildermeant. I saw nothing a

miss, yet still- it stuttered. Gears catching on gears,

grinding and sputtering. I squinted, leaning in close, the

air clogged with oil. My eyes lit on the problem. We were

missing a screw. A dwarf screw. Vital, minute. We would have

to land. And soon. I swore.

I told Mal.

He was grim, in good reason. The nearest planet was the one

we had left Inara on. We would have to turn back. I crossed

my fingures and prayed we could make it that far.

"Wash." Zoe snapped. Wash swivled in his chair. "hurry up.

Full speed. Whatever you can do."

Wash looked blank. Artificial sunlight illuminated his short

hair. "The engine will burst- combust- explode- take your

pick."

Zoe nodded. "I know. It will anyways, if Kalees right.

Asuming she is, It's probably a brighter prospect that it

combust on land. Full speed." She glanced to me for

guidance. I nodded.

"Full speed." I muttered.

Wash shook his head in amazement, but, then, he pressed the

magical three buttons. I wonder what they do. He hits them

before he does anything- same order, same buttons. But I

didn't have time to ponder. He cranked Serenity up to full

speed, and we were off.

Since there was nothing more for me to do, I waundered off

to my room. Not Inara's, not this time. I climbed into my

hammock, and speant the rest of the voyage weathering the

lurches, and trying to keep my coffee from spilling.

I became aware that we had reached out destination, the

bustling metropolis that is Capriol, when Serenity gave a

final lurch, and then fell utterly still. Time for the

scavenger hunt for the dwarf screw to begin.

I moaned. This could get…interesting.