A/N: New chapter for you all. I know it's been a bit, but I'm not dropping the story. I just got hit with a case of writer's block is all. I don't own Serenity/Firefly or the ghosts, so don't sue me...;-D

Morn After

The morning dawned bright and clear. Zoë opened her eyes and winced. Too bright and too clear, rather. It had been a very long time since she'd gotten that smashed she thought ruefully. Her nose informed her that the bedding had a dusty smell. She had not noticed the night before in her drunken stupor, but at least it was a normal unused kind of odor. She supposed that she was more aware of the smell because her mouth felt like cotton, dry and sticky. The brass band playing a marching tune in her head alongside the miners trying to cave in her skull were par for the course, she knew. Even the sharp light of the bright morning drilling through her eyes was a punishment she deserved for her liberal libations the night before. At least the booze had been quality stuff and not watered down.

She lay there for a bit longer, the unusual situation of the day before replaying in her memories. Not that many days aboard Serenity were normal in any regard, but she guessed that not getting shot at was strange enough for most regular days. Yesterday though was odder than most, the strange sounds and temperature shifts certainly had her nerves standing on end. And yet, she had taken a course of action without completely checking the safety of the environment out of a certainty that River would do way more damage and pose a greater threat than any unknown. She still felt that way.

Mal had relayed to her that he thought the sweep she and Jayne had performed was lacking in several ways, not only in imagination but also in care. She supposed that he was right, after all, just on account that there were no gunshots going of around her to make her flash fully back to her military days. Not to mention that it was a bloody castle they were in. Secret passages? Well, it made a twisted sort of sense. The sweep hadn't revealed any way to reach the towers, not to mention that they'd only found one bath. With so many rooms she supposed that there was a lot she'd overlooked.

Glancing at the floor, she studied the angle of the light filtering through the window. It was early still, judging by rays of sunlight that danced across the foot of the bed. But it was too late to go back to sleep and without Wash around to tempt her, staying in bed had little appeal. The sharp ache in her chest flared for a moment at the though of her glorious, child-like, beautiful husband. He would have loved this place with carefree glee. Tears pricked at her eyes again, and she rather violently threw herself into a sitting position. The pain of the movement forced the emotional loss to fade. Damn it all, when was she going to move on? He was gone, for good, and no amount of wishing was going to change that.

Her eyes moved over the sheet-covered room. The only thing she'd been interested in last night in her drunken stupor was the bed. She reached out and touched the finely carved wood that was polished smooth and dark as it wrapped around the mattress, incasing it like gentle hands. The single piece head and foot board was beautiful deep ruddy colored wood, almost the color of root beer, and the sunlight touching it set the piece alight with tiny sparks of deep amber fire. If she had to bet, she'd guess the rest of the furniture would be matching.

For a second she could almost feel the familiar creeping presence of the man she'd married behind her. She closed her eyes and let the impression soak into her soul. That timeless moment before he actually wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back into the warmth created from their lovemaking. But those arms never came, and they never would again. She hovered there, in the profound knowledge of what she had lost and forced the steel plates back around her heart. Her emotions walled off, she flung the bedclothes off herself and got up in spite of the protest her brain made to the movement. Zoë shook out her clothes, dressed with a grim face, and marched out into the hall. She'd live with the effects of her foolishness. All of them.

She noted the bathroom door was sitting in the hall, first off. Rather well away from it's rightful spot, too. There was no way she'd use it like this. Mal was right, there had to be more to this place. Who made a castle with this many rooms and only one bath? Zoë didn't feel like fixing the door either, so she made her way back down stairs and into the servant's hall. Just off the passage was a door that wouldn't open before. She thought that it might have been another servant's room and had left it. This time she pushed against it a bit harder and got the door open. It was a huge tiled room with a pool that looked like it would work for sporting laps, and at the far side she could see a sauna.

The tile was invitingly warm toned, fairly light in color but not so bright that her eyes rebelled at looking at it in her hyperaware state. A pleasant pattern of gold and sea green accented the edge of the pool itself and steam hovered low across the water, hinting that it was heated slightly. Zoë walked into the room carefully, mindful of her surroundings. She quickly found a changing room that included a toilet and a shower. The linens, soaps, shampoos, and lotions were stored in airtight cupboards. And the towels smelled freshly laundered. The combo made up her mind for her. The shower on Serenity just wasn't enough sometimes.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kaylee and Simon had located the bath connected to their room with ease and had 'blessed' it before trying the bed. Rich pink veined marble ran throughout the room, and accents spilled over into the walnut furnished bedchamber in the form of mirror frames and statues. While the sandy-blonde engineer was sleeping like an angel, the Doc was awake and trying to figure out exactly why. His chrono read that it was barely proper to be awake, actually. He rubbed his face and looked over at Kaylee. Her golden accented hair fanned across the burgundy brushed silk pillowcase. She was deep asleep untroubled by dreams at the moment. With a smile he kissed her. She didn't wake. He got up out of the sinfully decadent bed and moved into the bathroom.

Thinking about everything, Simon was sure that something happened here. That the 'age' of the place was artificial, was no question. Too many of the items reminded him of his parents' home, his childhood home, with its fancy sensor activated everything. Unlike Serenity, there was no need to touch the taps, no wait for the water to become the correct temperature, and, as Kaylee had discovered last night, no need to add soap to the washer because it was added automatically.

His nerves were set on edge though, and Simon was not used to feeling like this while surrounded by so many things that should have made him feel at home. He picked up the shaver and studied it. It was a safe model, with no blades. 'There's no need to think that the ghosts here, if in fact that is what is happening, want more company,' he mentally scolded.

While Simon was grooming himself for the day, Kaylee woke, stretched, licked her lips and smiled. The mechanic had slept really rather well. She felt safe here, as long as Simon was near. His scent on the pillow next to her head was enough to brighten her mood and chase away any jitters. Without bothering to dress Kaylee got up and wandered into the bath. Simon was doing his normal thing, and just watching him settled her further. She stepped up and wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing his shoulder while melding her body to his. He smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She felt his nerves settle and kissed his shoulder again.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Zoë came out of the pool room feeling much more alive. Washed and refreshed, in spite the fact that she was wearing yesterday's clothes. Her thoughts returned to Mal's insistence that the place was haunted. She didn't believe in such nonsense, normally. Or at least she hadn't before River came into her life. The events leading up to her husband's death had shaken many of her old deep-set viewpoints. She headed into the kitchen and looked around. Something had happened here in this kitchen, she knew what she'd heard. An icy cold settled in her gut as she scanned the room looking for any clues. Shortly River wandered in with Inara following.

The companion moved over to the cupboards and began to gather what she needed to make breakfast. "Sleep ok?" She asked. Her dreams had been ghoulish, and she was glad, for once, that she had decided to keep River close by. River had, oddly enough, comforted her and kept her from doing anything stupid in the night. She was, on one level, terrified of what Mal's search might bring to light. 'Nara didn't really want to know if the dreams she suffered from had basis in reality.

"Not bad, but I was too drunk to dream for once. I need to not make that a habit," Zoë replied. "I found another area with showers and toilets."

River settled down at the bar on the stool, "There are bathrooms connected to every bedroom. I could hear Simon and K--."

"Honey, I don't want to know," Zoë interrupted.

'Nara laughed. That explained why there had been no screams from Kaylee, at least. Her laugh sparked River's giggles. River hadn't slept much at all, between Inara's dreams, the spirits on the prowl and her brother's activity. It was good to hear her find amusement in something. It was infectious, apparently, because by the time the food cooking brought down Jayne and Mal, even Zoë was snickering. She had to admit the fact that the doc and the engineer were that loud was amusing. "I reckon they are not down because they are at it again," Zoë commented with a light teasing tone.

"Who?" Jayne asked as he eyed the bar warily.

"Don't be daft Jayne. Who do you think?" Inara set a plate of food in front of him.

Jayne looked around and commented, "Oh, yeah. I see the Doc and Kaylee are missing breakfast."

Mal accepted the food offered even though his head was protesting, "Um, coffee would be good, don't you think?"

Inara handed him a cup; "I didn't see any of the stuff you are used to, so you'll have to deal with this."

Mal looked at her, then down at his cup. He was surprised to find that it was filled with rich, black, and very expensive, real coffee. Mal set his plate down and took a small sip. "I'm going to be spoiled for life…"

"Now you know why I always drink tea." The companion's eyes twinkled with wicked mirth, although her voice was matter-of-fact flat.

Those in the kitchen enjoyed their food; Kaylee and Simon came in as Mal was finishing up his second cup of coffee with a dreamy look on his face. Simon asked, "Is that coffee?" sounding rather hopeful. Inara flashed him a grin and handed him a cup with his plate. Simon could have cared less about the food, with the real coffee in front of him. "I haven't had this since… Oh my first year as a med student. They served tea after that claiming that it was better for you." Once again, Kaylee couldn't tell the difference between the coffee on Serenity and the coffee she got here. She passed her cup to River who finished it off.

After finishing, the assembled crew looked over at Mal. Suddenly he felt the spotlight of their collective attention on him and thought fled, for just a moment. He cleared his throat. "All right, we need a complete search of this building. It's a castle, and everyone knows that castles should have secret passages. I saw three towers from outside and no stairs or hallways leading to them." He looked at Zoë. "We should pair up, take a capture with you and document anything strange you find. River, you are with me. Kaylee, Jayne, stick with 'Nara. Take the upstairs. Zoë, you and Simon start in the servant's area, I spotted a door that was ajar."

He was answered by a chorus of "Yes Sirs" and "Sure, Captain". Mal hoped that they could solve this mystery and soon.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nature was so full of tools that there was little he couldn't do, little he couldn't accomplish. He relished these times when he was at one with the wild nature of this backwater planet. He didn't spend enough time here, really. But then, no one else did either and at the moment he knew that there was a group of individuals that didn't belong here to take care of. He fixed his direction from the settlement in his mind, the stone structure calling to his soul like a lodestone. He could almost feel the trespassers in his playground, waiting like rats in a maze for the snake to be set loose. Three days walk, that was what it would take him… Three days. He hoped they were ready to play.

The rather plain-faced man straightened and looked back at the twisted hulk of metal that had once been a space-worthy ship. Then again, with a crew as dense at the one that flew on that particular ship, he'd been lucky to make it as far as he had. His ice blue eyes twinkled in sadistic mirth. Picking them off one by one and having the blame each other until it was down to the last three had been so very fun…

He'd been kinda screwed really after he'd killed the pilot. But she'd gotten wind of his game first and had to be silenced. That meant the ship had no safe way to land. Lucky for him, he was tough enough to survive crashes. He scratched the long, ragged scar that marred the back of his left hand and forearm. One of his … loves had given him that wound and he'd rubbed ashes into it to make it scar as a reminder of their game of wits. He pulled his hat over his closely shorn red-brown hair and set off toward where he heard water. He needed to cover his pale skin and mud would do.