Chapter 21

Kaylee was, of course, the first to arrive, running so fast, it was amazing she didn't trip all over herself. Instead, she tightly wrapped her arms around her Captain, and Mal could feel her wet tears on his shirt.

He thought she'd say, "I missed you," or "I never stopped hoping," or even "What took you so long?" But instead she pulled away and looked straight into Mal's eyes, saying in the sorriest and most broken voice he'd ever heard escape from her lips, "You promised my daddy you'd look after me."

"I know, mei mei," Mal said, pulling her close once more. "I know."

They smiled at each other, and Kaylee brushed away her tears. That's when she noticed the red headed girl standing next to Inara, looking a bit confused and uncomfortable. "This your daughter?" Kaylee asked.

"Sure is," said Mal. "Kaylee, I'd like you to meet Alexis. Alexis, this Kaylee, the best damn mechanic you're ever likely to come across in this here 'verse."

"Nice to meet you," said Alexis.

"Come here," said Kaylee, grabbing her into a hug. "You're family now."

"Oh," said Alexis, taken slightly off-guard.

"That's right," came a voice from atop the stairs. Everyone in the cargo bay turned to find Zoe with Jayne standing right behind her. She started to walk down towards them, and Mal came forward as well so that they met at the bottom landing. "Captain," she said, her emotions imperceptible to everyone who didn't know her like Mal did. Hurt, hope, joy, fear all rolled up into one revealing themselves through her gaze and stature. Wash would've been able to read her too, Mal thought sadly.

"Zoe," he said.

She nodded once. He was forgiven.

"So you back for good?" Jayne asked him.

"Seems to be," Mal answered him.

"Alright then," said Jayne. "That yer kid?" he asked, nodding towards Alexis.

"Yup," said Mal.

"Hi, I'm Alexis."

"I'm Zoe. This here's Jayne."

"You're the one my Dad was in the war with?" Alexis asked her.

"He's told you about us, then?" Kaylee asked her.

"Only a little," Alexis admitted. "I don't know about any of this until up about a few days ago." She paused. "When did you learn about me?"

"I told them after I visited," said the man whom Alexis vaguely remembered as Simon, who had just entered from one of the other areas of the ship. With him was a tall, thin looking boy probably only a few years older than herself, who was staring at like she had a third eye. It was very distracting.

"We were all pretty surprised," said Kaylee. "Never really thought the Cap'n to be one to settle down."

"Not that hard to believe," said Zoe. "He's always been capable in a position of leadership." She paused for a moment. "Hm," she said. "Red head."

"Yeah," said Alexis. "It's from my mom's side." The mention of her mother sent a jolt through her body. She had never been as close to her mother as she had been to her father, but the thought of never seeing her again suddenly caused her heart to break. Everything she had known was behind her, left in the past (literally). But she had chosen this path. For the sake of her Dad, to return to him all that he had lost and never hoped to find again.

She was brought back from the depths of her thoughts by Zoe, who suddenly smiled a genuine smile. "Didn't realize you had a type, Sir."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Mal, defensively.

"Seems your brides tend to be a bit on the ginger side is all," she told him.

Inara rolled her eyes and grabbed Kai's arm to pull him forward. "Alexis, this is Kai. Zoe's son."

The boy who still hadn't stopped staring inwardly panicked when he was brought close. "Hi," he managed to stammer out.

"Hi," Alexis said, smiling back towards him with the sweetest lips he had ever seen.

"So," he said. "I guess this is your first time on a spaceship."

"Definitely," she said.

"You'll need someone to show you the ins and outs," Kai said.

Mal immediately stepped forward, unhappy with the direction that the conversation was heading. "That's a swell idea," he said. "Kaylee, why don't you show Alexis the engine room?"

"Sure..." said Kaylee, turning towards the direction of the engines. "Follow me." Alexis started to follow, but not before turning back briefly to shrug apologetically towards Kai.

Once they had gone, Mal turned to Kai, looking at him up and down, sizing him up. "Last time I saw you," Mal said. "You were just a babe. I remember I was the next one to hold you after your Ma."

"I'd like to say I remember you," said Kai. "But all I know are the stories I've grown up on."

"S'alright," said Mal. "Suppose I got a lot of catching up to do."

At that moment, Mal looked up towards the catwalk at the top of the stairs. It was though he had sensed her presence, staring at him, penetrating his thoughts. They made eye contact and she flashed one of her enigmatic smiles.

"If you guys don't mind," said Mal, turning back to his crew. "I think I'd like to reacquaint myself with my boat. How 'bout we all meet in the kitchen in an hour for dinner?"

"Okay," said Zoe. And since she agreed, they all agreed.

When Mal looked up again, she was gone.

–

About two minutes later, Mal entered the bridge. He knew she was there. He was just as sure as that as she was that he would come looking for her there. He sat down in the empty co-pilot chair and sighed, looking straight ahead. It had been a long time since he had seen so many stars this close. It was like millions of lanterns beaconing weary travelers forward to their various destinations.

"They are quite beautiful," said River. "They remind me of the fireflies I used to catch in glass jars when I was little."

"I got your note," said Mal.

"It was winter, so the bird slept," she repeated from memory. "Now it's spring, and the bird must again become what it once was. But before it can soar, it must remember the first rule of flying."

"Do you remember it?" Mal asked her.

"I do," she said. She turned to face him. "But I like to hear you say it."

"Love," said Mal. He didn't say his entire speech. There was no point. Just that one word summed up everything: the reason he returned, the reason he almost didn't.

"You missed something, though," said River. "About that bird."

"And what's that, little Albatross?" asked Mal.

"To soar, it must also learn to no longer fear leaving its nest," said River.

"Is that what I was?" asked Mal. "Afraid? Well, I suppose I was."

"Are you still?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. He then looked back towards the stars, wondering which beacon was meant for him. Well, it didn't matter. He would visit them all.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the reunion. I know I've made you wait a while for it. Okay, so before writing this, I totally knew how I wanted to end the story, but now that I've actually written it, I'm not so sure anymore. (I've gone through so many ending ideas by now, I should just turn this into a choose your own adventure story!) Well, when I do the next chapter, I'll see where that leads me.

Oh, and the Mal-Kate goodbye should be next chapter as well.