Summary: Things are looking up for the crew of Serenity. 'Specially for a certain pair... Set post-'Serenity'.

Notes: This fic takes place after my first 'Firefly' fic, 'Grieving'. It's not necessary to read that one first, but it'd sure make me happy if you did! And those 'review' things? Those are cool, too...

Disclaimer: Once again I play in the Master's 'verse. I promise to return everything to the Master only slightly used, so there's really no need for one of those silly law suits, right?

SINCE THE DAY I MET YOU...

By screaminheathen69

Serenity, slowly but surely, was becoming a happy boat once more.

The pain of Miranda and Haven wasn't gone, not by a damn sight, but it had eased a bit, with time. The crew found some solace in that they'd done right, and that Book and Wash hadn't died for nothing.

River had managed to draw Zoe out of her funk, Simon and Kaylee couldn't get enough of each other, and even Mal and Inara seemed to have found a kind of balance. Oh, they still snarked at each other regular, but the bite was gone from it.

'Course, the fact that Zoe figured out about a month after Miranda that Wash had left her a surprise didn't hurt none. Mal had never quite understood what people meant when they talked about pregnant women glowing until Zoe started showing. No denyin' the glow there. Nor the smile that shone like the sun her every wakin' moment.

River turned out to be a more'n fair pilot. She could make Serenity dance. Proved it on more'n one occasion. Sure, now that the bounty on the Tam's was lifted honest work was easier to come by, but that didn't mean that they didn't still take the odd, err, slightly questionable job. And the Reavers were still out there besides. She kept Wash's toy dinosaurs on her console for good luck.

River and Jayne had become fast friends. He still called her Moony, and she still called him an ape, but they got on well enough, training together in their spare time. As Jayne put it, "Ya just gottta respect a gal c'n wade through a screamin' horde 'o Reavers like that." They got to hittin' the bars together (much to Simon's dismay), not that River actually drank much. Folks stopped pickin' fights with 'em, after the first few bars got demolished.

Since coming back to Serenity, Inara hadn't taken on any clients. At first, she'd shrugged it off, saying she needed some time to mourn, but as the months rolled by, she never seemed to get too worried about goin' back to work. Instead, she worked alongside the rest of the crew, feeling more at home than anytime she could recollect. She found there was a comfort in a hard days work.

All in all, things were shiny. Still, everyone had the odd bad night, waking up in a cold sweat, haunted by nightmares. Tonight, it was Inara's turn. She was sitting in her bunk, curled up into a tiny ball, trembling, trying to forget the nightmare she'd just woken up from screaming.

Shaking her head, she got up and put on a silk robe that had been a gift from that ass Atherton Wing. "Enough is enough, girl. Go get yourself some tea..." Muttering to herself, she left her shuttle and started for the galley. As she stepped out onto the catwalk over the cargo hold, she stopped, grinning.

"This is oddly familiar."

Mal, sitting with his legs dangling off the catwalk with a bottle sitting beside him, was staring down at the cattle in the hold, his mind a million miles away. Smiling, he glanced up at her. "It does seem a mite familiar, don't it?" Taking a closer look, the smile faded. "Bad dreams again?"

Inara started to deny it, but thought better of it and shrugged. "Yes."

Mal patted the grating beside him. "Well, why don't you just make yourself comfy right here. Have a slug of Kaylee's Inter-Engine Brew. Good for what ails ya. And cleanin' parts. And strippin' paint..."

Settling down next to Mal, Inara took the cup he offered her. "Stops bad dreams, does it?"

Mal took a sip and pulled a face. "Well, I conjure that with all the brain cells this stuff kills off, even if you had a bad dream, you wouldn't recollect it."

Inara gulped down the contents of her glass. Her eyes got real wide, and she made a sound, sorta like when somebody gets punched in the gut and all the wind gets knocked outta 'em. "I do believe you may be right," she wheezed. "More, please."

They sat there for a bit, talking some, but mostly just bein' there, companionable-like. Eventually, Inara set her cup down with a sigh. "I really should get some sleep. Busy day ahead. We're still supposed to be on Whitefall this afternoon, right?"

"Yup."

"Probably wind up getting shot by Patience again?"

"Like as not."

Inara chuckled a bit. "Well, good night then. Thanks for the drink. And the company." Inara started to get up, but stopped when Mal grabbed her hand. "Mal?"

Mal took a deep breath. "I, uhh, I just wanted to say... ummm... well... I'm glad you stayed. It's good to have you home again." He took another deep breath, then turned and looked her in the eye. "For near three years now you an' me've danced around each other, neither of us sayin' what we ought, or what we felt. Takin' the easy way out an' bein' hurtful, to prideful to be honest."

He wrapped his hands around hers. Inara was trying to control her breathing, her heart stampeding in her chest. "If there's one thing I've learned outta the goin's on this last year or so, it's that the hammer can drop on us any time. I'm through dallyin' about and wastin' time. So here's the plain truth of it."

Mal leaned in a little closer. "I've been in love with you since the day I met you. Maybe it's too late, maybe I've screwed up what chance I mighta had, but I want you to know how I feel. I love you." He gave a little shrug. "Always have. Always will."

Inara sat there, stunned. Once again, she felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. She reached up and stroked her knuckles down Mal's cheek. "Bao-bei. You're not too late." She leaned in and kissed him, gently, lovingly. "I've loved you since I met you. I was just too much of a coward to say it." They kissed again, an almost chaste kiss, but a kiss that promised so much more to come. "And you're absolutely right. We've wasted enough time."

Mal wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in tight, holding her hand in his lap. They both felt like a huge weight had finally been lifted. They sat there, content just being together, and eventually dozed off holding each other, leaning there against the railing.

Which is where the crew found them, hours later, on their way to breakfast. Five people stood there, staring, smiling and surprised. Jayne, being Jayne, summed it up for all of them.

"'Bout gorram time! Let's eat..."

Okay, so I watched the 'Firefly' marathon the other day, then rewatched 'Serenity' again, and my muse jumped up and started waving her hand around frantically and screaming "Oooh! Oooh! I have this idea!" And who am I to argue with my muse? Haven't really decided if I'm gonna try to go any farther with this, we shall just have to see, won't we? ( shameless hint for review )

Later ;)

'To thee no star be dark...'