Matthew Mitchell Reynolds This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.
To borrow a phrase: Firefly no mine...no money, no sue, please?
AN: Sorry it's been so long! Enjoy!
Malcolm followed Zoë silently through the ship. He used to be accustomed to obeying one of Morgan's summons immediately. He expected he would have to get used to it again.
He wondered what she wanted. He was already drawn taught. They might run into the Alliance at any moment now. Until they did, they had no way of knowing what they would be up against. Therefore, they could make no plans ahead of time. He had talked with Morgan and agreed a small team would probably be best. He, Zoë, Morgan and Jayne would be going in.
So he had no idea why Zoë was leading him down to the passenger's quarters, and to Shepherd Books' accommodations specifically. He entered cautiously behind her. The Shepherd was standing in the middle of the room, his Bible in his hands, looking like he was preparing to give a sermon. Zoë took a place by his side and turned to look back at Malcolm.
"What's going on here, Zoë?" he asked.
"There aren't any landmines on this ship, are there?" Mal turned...and almost fell over backward. Morgan stood in the doorway, bedecked in what was obviously one of Inara's dresses. It was green silk, and accentuated her curves perfectly. Her skin glowed golden, and her eyes shone like emeralds, her hair poured like muddy red rivers to her back. She didn't wear any bangles or makeup. She was beautiful. Mal had never seen her in anything other than muddy shirts and pants and her skin. He thought he might stop breathing. He'd known what she'd been born into, but not until now had he ever believed she belonged there. Not till now did he feel inadequate, undeserving. She belonged in a bed of silk and jewels, not cold steel and space.
But he couldn't tell her any of this. He was held captive by her, and could only feel must be the luckiest man that ever was or ever would be that she had chosen him.
She stepped into the room and slid the door closed behind her. It seemed to take forever for her to cover the few feet to him. She took his hand, and he realized he had stopped breathing, because he sucked a breath in shakily. She pulled him to face the Shepherd. Mal noticed in a hazy sort of way that the man had a fatherly sort of smile and Zoë was grinning like a little sister.
Morgan didn't ask if he still wanted to marry her. She didn't ask if it was okay. He would've said yes to both questions. But she didn't ask, because she already knew.
"Dearly beloved" the Shepherd began the ancient words, "We are gathered here today to witness the union between Morgan Mitchell and Malcolm Renyolds...."
Back in the kitchen, everyone was eating quietly, preparing themselves for an encounter with the Alliance. The legality of their operation didn't bother them, but rather the size and strength of their opposition. Going up against the Alliance was no small feat.
Morgan and Malcolm weren't thinking about that. They were think that their son would be with them soon, and they were both excited to tell him. They were both thinking onward to a happy life with him. Mal was even thinking the ship could use a hint of pink, another set of emerald eyes.
After dinner, Mal took Morgan back down to the passenger quarters. There was only one bunk left. He slid the door back and let her enter.
"This'll be Matt's room" he told her, adopting the nickname she often used, "I know it's kinda far from the regular crew quarters, but the Doc and Book are down here with him"
"He's not afraid of the dark" Morgan said.
"Well, I thought maybe we could find a couple things to put in here" Mal went on, "Make it more homey"
"Way ahead of you Captain" Zoë said from behind. The parents turned. Most of the crew was standing behind the first mate, each with something to contribute. They were odds and ends. Wash had brought his plastic dinosaur toys, Kaylee had brought a couple of broken engine parts that she kept in her quarters, and Inara had donated a beautiful blue throw blanket. The Doc and his sister didn't have much of their own, but they both managed to find something they had accumulated in the few months they'd been on board that they could part with. The Shepherd had a couple of books that would be appropriate for a child: real, paper bound books.
They all went to work setting things up, good naturedly arguing about the placement of this or that, rearranging everything completely over and over again until it was finally satisfactory to everyone. When they'd finished, everybody sat around talking and laughing. No one had even noticed that River had slipped out until they heard crashes coming from the infirmary.
"River?" Simon yelled and was the first to the infirmary. She was laying waste to his supplies, pulling drawers out, throwing tools around. It was too dangerous for him to enter with scalpels and such flying around.
"River! Stop it! Just calm down!" he pleaded with her.
"Not fair!" she shouted back. The Captain and the others appeared.
"What's wrong with her, Doc?" Malcolm asked, again exasperated with the girl's crazy behavior.
"I don't know" Simon replied, "What's not fair, River?" She ignored him.
"Hear the voices? They're going to get you" she said instead. Inara and Morgan exchanged a look.
"River, now put that down" Morgan ordered calmly.
"Can't stop them. Two by two, hands of blue" River said, but she had stopped her rampage. She stood still in the middle of her mess and stared at the floor.
"Can't stop them" she repeated softly. Simon rushed in and threw his arms around her. She laid her head against his chest. Morgan entered more slowly, her head twisting around to take it all in.
"Is she okay?" she asked slowly.
"She has a cut on her hand" Simon answered, "It's not bad"
"Some of these bottles are broken" Morgan noted.
"We'll replace them from the cargo" Mal said.
"What happened?" Kaylee asked aloud. Before anyone could venture a guess, Jayne came pounding onto the catwalk above.
"Hey, Cap'n! There's something out there!" he reported. Malcolm and Zoë immediately abandoned River and her insanity, rushing up to the cockpit. Morgan took a moment to consider the girl before following them.
It was still pretty far off. It probably hadn't even picked them up yet. Serenity was far reaching. They could see it only as a flashing star, smaller and closer than a real one.
"What is that?" Malcolm asked.
"Uh, I'm going to say, a space station" Wash answered.
"In the middle of nowhere?" Zoë pointed out. Morgan had joined them by now and she looked out at the blinking light.
"It's so no one can find them" she told them slowly. Her head cocked from side to side as she studied it. Then her shoulders dropped and straightened. Her arms dropped from the cross they'd been in and her face hardened.
"We're going to need access to a computer so we're not running blind" she said, "We need to figure out how to get in, get access, get Matt and get out. We won't know the layout of the station until we're there, so...."
It was a new war meeting, with the genius in charge again. Wash and Jayne realized why so many men had followed her. She really was a genius and was brave to the point of recklessness. After just a few hours, they had a working plan.
"We have to be as inconspicuous as possible" she said, "The best lie is the truth, or as much truth as possible. Plus, you've been in Alliance hands before, so a lie will easily be caught. How much do they know about you?"
"Our names" Mal answered, "My rank. They didn't much ask about our relationships to one another"
"Good. Families are the least threatening and suspicious. So, Wash, Mal and Jayne: You just became brothers. Zoë and I play wives, and the Shepherd is Zoë's father"
"Shepherds don't have kids" Zoë pointed out.
"Well, the Preacher man just joined a new sect that does" Morgan replied, "Make sure he knows it. Now, we can pass River and Kaylee off as Mal and I's daughters. We're going to have to change River's name, it stands out too much"
"What about the Doc?" Wash asked. There was the shortest of pauses while Morgan considered.
"Kaylee's husband. Now, I want the Doc, Kaylee and River kept out of sight. All the same, Mal, you better get him something else to wear. He's too expensive looking. It'd be too hard to incorporate Inara. Companions have detailed files."
"So, we're a family" Mal repeated, giving his "brothers" worried looks. Morgan's plans were often very complicated, due to the detail. Of course, that was also why they almost always worked, too. She thought of answers for every contingency. Her lies were exquisite, more artwork than anything.
"You weren't with us when the Alliance had us before" Jayne grunted, "And the Doc and kid were hiding"
"Okay. Then we were on Persephone" Morgan said, "My mother died. I needed help settling things, so Simon went with us. We should probably change his name too. How do you think he feels about Peter?"
"So we're a cargo ship" Wash repeated, making sure he had it right, "We got hit by a radiation storm, knocked out our nave and we've been drifting while me and Kaylee tried to fix it?"
"You think Kaylee will be able to set us up?" Morgan asked her husband.
"If she can't, nobody can" Mal answered.
"Good. Wash, make sure you change our logs accordingly" Morgan reminded him and started away.
"Where you goin'?" Jayne wanted to know. Surely that couldn't be the whole thing, just a really good lie? That was supposed to get them to her kid? Morgan looked back at him. This time, he liked the scary smile on her face.
"I have some baking to do"