Title: Inside Us All
Series: Fic-For-All Fanmix
Author: Jmaria
Rating: FR-13
Disclaimer: Joss owns
Pairing: FfA #2011 Fred Burkle / Shepherd Book (Firefly)
Summary: 20 songs, 20 pairings. Inside Us All by Creed
Part Summary: The spirit of Serenity speaks.
A/N: Set in the same 'verse as Time & Pushing Me Away. Third in a set. Set post Serenity (the BDM) So spoilers.

Inside Us All

What remained of Winifred Burkle's soul sighed as the dearly departed Shepherd Derrial Book watched River Tam smile at the empty space they occupied. Most of her soul had been burned up in the creation of Illyria over 500 hundred years ago, but a bit of her remained protected by the Powers. She'd been nurtured back to health and sped across the universe to observe the crew, to help prepare them for what was to come. She'd been with them from the day Mal Reynolds laid eyes on her in a junkyard.

He'd literally laid his eyes on her. She'd made Serenity (formally named Lady Fate and the Albatross) sparkle and catch his eye. She'd been there when it was just Mal and Zoe, through Bester's shot career, Wash, Kaylee, and Jayne's arrivals. Right down to when she'd yanked Inara, the good doctor and his sister, and the Shepherd himself into residency.

And then her family started to splinter. First Inara left and then Book. Simon and River nearly left, and the outcome of that had left all of them injured with both Wash and Book dead. But her family returned to her, never really leaving. Wash taught River how to fly, and the Shepherd watched over his flock of black sheep. River could 'feel' them, Fred knew this because the girl was always mumbling something to either Wash or Book.

"Is the boy a danger to them?" Book asked quietly.

"Connor? No, but I'd hate to see all three of them together," Fred sighed.

"Three?"

"River, Connor and the -" Book's eyes sparkled, as Fred caught herself. She glared at the older man. "Almost got me to spill the beans, Preacher. If you know, then River'll know, and then she'd spoil the surprise for Connor and herself. Besides, it's more of a spur of the moment deals with them."

"It's one of those things they've forbidden you to discuss, child?" Book asked seriously.

"Yep."

"You never answered my question you know, about how you got to be here, or how Wash and I ended up here rather than in Heaven."

"Heaven's going home, you know that," Fred sighed. "Y'all got to come to your home, see your family healthy and happy."

"Was your family on Serenity once?"

"They are now, but no, they never set foot on board."

"How did you get to be here then?"

"There's a tiny little mechanism in Serenity's engine that I designed when I worked for an evil law firm on Earth-that-was," Fred smiled at his shocked expression. "I'm not evil, just kinda worked for them for less'n a year. Then I died."

"And you followed your invention for over five hundred years?"

"Aw, hell no, Preacher. Powers popped me here just after the war. Been on Serenity since before she was Serenity."

"You've been on board for over eight years and no one's noticed?"

"Yep. Most stuff that went wrong involving the ship and nearly ended disastrously happened on account of me. Well, the good-ending parts anyway."

"Like the Reaver attacks, the Catalyzer breaking, the Alliance, Saffron?" Book frowned.

"All me. Well, everything ending up shiny in the end. I'm not supposed to interfere, but -" Fred blushed.

"You share an affinity for bending the rules with Mal?" Book smiled.

"Hell, I've spent eight years with him! He's a bad influence. Plus, I hung out with some other rule breakers in my past life."

"I think there's a little rebel inside us all, child."

"Some would call it being a hero," Fred sighed, leaning gently over the rails of the catwalk. It had taken her eight years to master not falling through them. The Shepherd wasn't so lucky. She winced as he flailed his arms and disappeared through the floor of the cargo bay just as Mal started hollering at Kaylee or Jayne. "They'll fit in just right here."

Fred hurried through the ship to catch Book before he wound up out in the black. Again.