Mal sat in the cockpit looking through the cortex for some kind of job, so far everything was of the illegal smuggling variety.

"Sir, can I talk with you?" Zoe asked.

Mal turned around, "Go right ahead, but I hope it's about some kind of legal job, we got little ones to feed on this boat."

"I think it's time we told Andrea the truth about who she is."

"No."

"Sir, I don't mean to argue but she should know who she really is."

"She knows who she is. She's your daughter, and a member of this crew, when she's older she can do more to help, but until then, she's your daughter."

Zoe looked down at the pilot's chairs, Wash's dinosaurs were long ago packed away when they attempted to hire a new pilot six years ago. His name was Brady Kern; he didn't last but a few months. It wasn't his fault he didn't fit in with the crew. Everyone tried to hold him to the standard of the past pilots.

"I don't think its right to keep lying to her."

"Zoe, we talked about this a long time ago, she doesn't need to know," Mal responded.

"I understand that, but she's getting older now, she's smarter than we think she'll figure it out soon. She just needs to do some basic math and she'll know that her father isn't the man I married."


Andrea helped Kaylee carry the engine parts back to Serenity; Kaylee had her arms full of an energetic Lily. "Drea, can you take those parts to the engine room for me, I have to drop this one with her father."

"Sure, can you put this in my room for me?"

Andrea adjusted the engine parts in her arms so she could give the package containing her newly purchased dress into Kaylee's free hand. "Ooh, what did you buy? Can I look?"

Andrea shook her head, "It's a surprise for my mom, I wouldn't want her to find out about it, and I want to keep it grease free." Kaylee laughed in response and Andrea left the woman who was like an aunt with her daughter.

For the most part, the ship was quiet, a rare occurrence. Normally there was the sound of Kaylee and Lily playing. Andrea carried the parts into the engine room and placed them in the corner. She wiped the grease from the parts off on her pants and sat down in the well worn hammock that Kaylee had always kept. When she was younger Andrea would sneak into the hammock to listen to the engine. Sometimes it was a gentle hum, others it was a louder. Once the Captain had caught her talking to the engine, he walked away laughing and then her mother came in to take her to their bunk.

She placed her hand against the cool metal of the wall. Watching her hand as the wall absorbed her body heat. She leaned forward and pressed her cheek against the wall, just as she had when she was younger. Andrea closed her eyes and inhaled the scent that was only Serenity deeply trying to clear her thoughts in an attempt to absorb strength from the ship. When she was younger Andrea would imagine that she was created by Serenity, that the ship had given life to her and gave Andrea to her mother to be raised because a ship wasn't able to take care of a child. Now Andrea knew that the idea that her mother was really a ship was silly, but sometimes she still reached out for comfort from Serenity.

Andrea's mind shifted from the safe thoughts of her home to a thin woman with large brown eyes. Eyes that felt so familiar. Even though she met with those eyes for a moment, Andrea still could feel the chill that ran up her spine which was followed for surprising warmth. It was all very confusing. She pulled away from the wall and opened her eyes, "Home," she whispered to herself. The woman felt like home, like Serenity. She shook her head and touched her hair, a nervous tendency she always posses. Touch was important; more could be explained through touch than any of the other senses.

Andrea needed to touch her mother.

She jumped out of the hammock and made her way to her mother's bunk. As she walked she touched what she could in hopes of taking in some calm from the ship in exchange for the heat she gave to it. She stopped near her mother's bunk and tilted her head, considering jumping down the ladder and lying on her mother's bed. Or finding her father's old jumpsuits to ward of the chill brought on by thoughts of the mysterious woman.

But she didn't need do act like a child any longer- she was old enough to take care of herself. There was no need to hide behind her father's possessions. Andrea closed her eyes and thought- perhaps Kaylee would need her help. Lately the mechanic relied oh her help after Simon's insistence that she rest during this pregnancy. She would not go running to her mother for comfort, she could handle this on her own. After all, it was only a stranger, someone Andrea will never see again. The verse was a big place.

She turned to walk back to the engine room but stopped when she heard voices coming from the cockpit.

"I don't think its right to keep lying to her."

"Zoe, we talked about this a long time ago, she doesn't need to know."

"I understand that, but she's getting older now, she's smarter than we think, she'll figure it out soon. She just needs to do some basic math and she'll know that her father isn't the man I married."

Andrea began to breathe heavily. Her father wasn't her father? Maybe she heard wrong. Her father was Hoban Washburne, everyone called him Wash. He was the pilot of Serenity. He was the man my mother fell in love with and married.

Andrea wrapped her right arm around her side and held tightly onto her left arm. She felt dizzy, everything turned blurry. Did her mother have an affair with someone else? Was her father another man? She reached out to touch the wall for stability hoping to absorb more of Serenity's strength. But it wasn't enough. She felt weak, her knees felt fuzzy.

For the first time in her life, Andrea fainted.


Jayne was hiding in his bunk. It was the only place a man could get some peace and quiet. He pulled out a book from underneath his bed. It was pretty rough around the edges with a plain brown cover. Shepherd had given it to him a long time ago, the last time that they were at Haven. Shepherd Book tucked it in a package with some cigars that he had rolled himself. After everything happened Jayne started reading the book when he couldn't get to sleep, it wasn't till he was ten pages in till he realized that Shepard had given him The Bible to read.

Jayne had read the book tons of times in the past fourteen years. After a while he started pickin' up other books like it. Mostly he bought them when they were at bigger ports. He had a few books on Buddhism that he read. No one really knew that when he went to hide in his bunk he read the entire time. There really wasn't much to do on the ship when they were in the black. Yeah, he'd lift weights sometimes, but workin' out reminded him of his old friend. So he stuck to reading, because he could read when everyone else was asleep. Maybe one day he could stop being such a sinner and become a saint or something. Shepherd always said Saint Jayne had a nice ring to it.

Jayne didn't sleep much. He hadn't slept well in over a decade. Not since- There was a crash, not really a crash it sounded more like someone had fallen. It came from right above.