Eli Harris was woken by a knocking on his front door. Assuring his wife it wouldn't be anything important, he struggled into his robe and went to cuss at the person outside.
"What do you think you're doing at this time of the morning?" he said, unbolting the locks. "Do you have any idea …" He stared at the large man outside, carrying a very large, tightly wrapped bundle. "Mr Cobb?"
Jayne nodded. "Got a favour to ask."
"Are you on your own?"
"Yeah. Safer that way."
"At least come in, come in."
"Better not. Considering what I've got here."
"And what is that?"
"A body."
There was a sharp intake of breath, then Harris nodded. "Come with me." He led the way around the side of the house to a small outbuilding, going inside and turning on the light.
"It ain't nothing to be worried about," Jayne said, standing just inside the doorway. "It's just … one of our passengers didn't make it, and … well, we ain't got the facilities to take her with us, nor the inclination to do so."
"Her?" Harris cleared some bits off a trestle table against the wall.
"Name's Roxanna Caldwell. She … well, she died giving birth."
"Put her down here." Harris watched the big man lay the bundle gently onto the old wood. "The child?"
"Alive. It was touch and go at first, but the doc pulled her through."
"A little girl?"
"Yeah." Jayne adjusted his gunbelt. "Only, we kinda hoped you might take in on yourselves to bury her. Be right. Seeing as she gave up herself for her kid. Run from Regina, so you can maybe comprehend why we got her."
Harris understood. He'd heard of the unforgiving attitude of that particular place. "Was she sick?"
"Yeah, but it weren't nothing you can catch."
"Cancer?"
Jayne nodded. "One brave lady," he said, admiration in his tone.
"Then we would be proud to have her in our church yard." Harris said a silent prayer. "Andrew Brooks is to be buried tomorrow morning –" He glanced out at the rapidly lightening sky. "This morning. She can lie next to him."
"Good. I know the Cap'll be grateful."
---
They buried Andrew in the town graveyard, and put Roxanna in next to him. The whole town seemed to come out, a wave of black funeral clothes, dotted with traditional white Buddhist garb. Jayne watched from the shelter of a large tree as they lowered the caskets into the ground, the Mayor presiding, while a small choir sang hymns.
He waited until they'd finished, until they'd wandered away back to the church and the funeral breakfast, until the diggers had filled the holes in again, before he walked quickly down to the freshly turned earth. He stood for a moment, the weak sunlight trying to poke through the clouds, his hands wishing they had a hat or something to fiddle with. Instead he laid the posy of wild flowers he'd picked on the grave of Roxanna Caldwell.
"Don't you worry none," he whispered. "We'll make sure your little girl's taken care of."
He looked at the other grave.
"You take care of this one, too," he said softly, his words to Andrew dropping into the still air. "Figure you will, but best to say."
He glanced around, making sure no-one was watching, and loped off back towards where the shuttle was hidden.
---
Zoe lay back on the pillow, her arms full of little Ben, having just given him a feed. Now she held her baby against her bare skin, staring into the ceiling.
"Penny for them?" Hank asked, ready to go back up to the bridge and take over the watch.
"I'd be overcharging."
He smiled. "Heard tell how you told that Hetter off."
"Kaylee?"
"She couldn't wait. Made it seem like you were about to tear him limb from limb."
"It occurred to me."
"You know, I feel sorry for him."
She lifted her head and glared at him. "For Hetter?"
"Sure. He's never going to know the fun of having a family like ours."
Zoe laughed. "He's married."
"So?"
"So do you really feel sorry for him?"
"Kinda." He ran his hands through his hair, knowing it wasn't going to make any difference. "My Granma used to go to this church with a fire and brimstone preacher, one of them that prophesied hell and high water for anyone who didn't kowtow to his vision of the Good Book. I asked her once why she went. I mean, she didn't like him, that was obvious, but every Sunday she'd put on her best clothes and go and sit in the pew and listen to him rail at everyone."
Zoe, interested, despite herself, asked, "What did she say?"
"That she felt sorry for him. That he was so totally convinced of the depravity of mankind that he'd never be happy. Never feel joy. The only pleasure he got out of life was seeing his congregation in front of him come Sundays, and that was a mean, dispirited thing."
"You think Hetter's like that?"
"No-one's ever gonna come up to his ideal."
"You don't mind if I don't feel sorry for him, do you?"
He laughed. "Oh, I might. Given enough time. 'Cept I don't think there's gonna be enough in this 'verse." He looked at her, the darkness of her skin contrasting with the paler, more coffee colour of his son on her breast. "River'll be okay."
"Is it that obvious?"
"Bao bei, I know you." He sighed. "And the baby'll be fine too."
"She's so small." Zoe hugged Ben a little tighter.
---
Kaylee put the little girl into the cot next to Bethany's bed. "You sure about this, honey?" she asked.
"I'll look after her," her daughter said, tucking the blanket in. "I like her." She looked up. "Can we keep her?"
"Keep …" Kaylee's mouth was open. "Sweetie, I don't … she has family somewhere, maybe they're looking for her … I don't –"
"She's got no family," Bethany pointed out. "Her mama said so."
"That she did," her mother agreed. "But there might be others, who –"
"No-one," Bethany said firmly. "No-one else to look after her."
Kaylee, with her large family back on Phoros, and her extended family here on Serenity, shook her head. "No-one?"
"Nobody to care." Bethany patted the baby's head. "'Cept us."
Kaylee stared at her daughter, at the compassion already in that little frame, and nodded. "'Cept us," she echoed. "You get some sleep," she added.
"'Kay, Momma." Bethany snuggled down, but kept one hand on the crib. "'Night."
"Night." Kaylee slid the door closed and went back to her own room.
Simon was sitting on the bed, his head in his hands.
"You okay?" she asked, joining him.
"Not really. I lost two patients today. It's been a while since that happened."
"Neither of 'em were your fault." She put her arm around his shoulders.
"That doesn't actually help."
"How come?" She shook him a little. "You didn't make Roxanna sick. Nor Andrew. Unless you've been up to something I don't know about."
"But I couldn't help them."
"And that hurt, doesn't it? I know it does, like when you were worried about Frey, about River … but Simon, you can't know everything. You can't do everything. 'N' if you could, you wouldn't be the man I married."
He looked into her eyes, so honest and open, so loving. "You mean you didn't want a superman?"
"Might've been nice for a while," she admitted, her lips curving into a soft smile. "But they ain't real. You are. And if that Hetter were a nicer man I'd ask him to thank God for me that I got you."
"Hetter." Simon shook his head. "You know, I'm coming more around to the idea of getting Jayne to put him out of the airlock."
"And then you'd worry about that if he did." She squeezed him gently.
"Probably." He glanced towards the door. "How's the baby?"
"Asleep. Bethie's looking after her."
Simon smiled. "That daughter of ours is going to grow up just like her Momma."
"Sweet talker." Kaylee paused, then added, "Bethie wants to keep her."
"Keep … bao bei, she's not a toy. Or a puppy."
"I know. So does Bethie. I don't think that's what she means." She leaned into him. "She says Roxanne told her she had no family. No-one to take the baby in."
"There must be someone."
"Not a one. 'parently."
"Kaylee …"
"Just thinking, is all. Just thinking."
---
"Came back," Jayne said, ducking under the shuttle doorway, looking towards River laying on the bed, facing away from him. "Like I said."
"Yes."
He stared at her. She'd actually spoken. Not looking up at him yet, but she'd said one word. Just for him.
"They buried her," he added, trying to be as normal as possible, undoing his gunbelt and laying it on the small table. "Proper. I saw. Words said and everything. You'd'a liked it." He realised what he'd said. "I mean, if'n it hadn't been a funeral, 'n' all."
River didn't move.
"Whole town came out. Don't think there was a one stayed at home. If I'd been inclined I coulda gone through their houses and taken everything I wanted. Not that I wanted to."
He sat on the chair and took off his boots, dropping them on the floor, careful not to look at her.
"I … er … put some flowers on the grave. On her grave. Not Andrew's. I mean, he's a feller, and I ain't that way inclined. Not that I was ever into interfering with dead bodies either. I ain't a Reaver. But I know there's some as don't hold … " He stopped. "Look, River, it's all well and good me keeping up my side of the conversation, but a word from you now and then would help."
"What do you want me to say?"
He held his breath. "How about 'I love you'?"
"I'm broken."
"So what else is new?"
"I don't know who I am."
"Aw, hell, that's easy. You're my moonbrain. 'N' if that don't ring a bell, you're River, the girl who gutted a whole room full of them Reavers, saved our skins good. Saved my life more'n once, too. 'N' I don't just mean by shootin' the bad guys. I mean by moving in with me. Saying you love me." He leaned forward in the chair. "'N' I miss that River. That woman who makes me hot just to look at her. I don't care what you were, it's what you are now that matters. And that's my girl."
For a long moment there was no sound, and Jayne began to think he'd gone too far. Then River rolled over. She held out her arms, and in a moment he was on the bed, holding her, letting her cry out all the tears inside.
---
"Jayne's back," Mal said, climbing down the ladder.
Freya was lying on their bed, one hand under her head, staring into the shadows above her. "Good."
"He said they did a good job."
"Good."
"So I've told Hank to get us going to Three Hills. Might have to burn a few more cells, but I reckon we'll be in time."
"Good."
"Course, dragging Hetter out the back of the boat ain't doing much for our space dynamics …" He watched her focus come back and she looked up at him, her brows drawn down.
"What?"
"Well, at least you didn't say good." He crossed the room and sat next to her. "What's up? Thinking about Roxanna?"
"She was a nice lady."
"Yes she was. Didn't deserve to die like that. Didn't deserve to die at all."
"No, she didn't."
He moved back so he could lean on the bulkhead, pulling her into him so she was against his chest. "Let me guess. You're thinking whether you'd do the same."
"Die for my child? Foregone conclusion, Mal. I think it comes with being a parent." She snuggled her head a little.
"Guess you're right. I'd die for you and Ethan."
She didn't answer for a long moment. "I know," she said finally, her voice so soft he could hardly hear it. "Me too."
"Just so long as we don't have to make good on that," Mal added, putting his arm around her and squeezing gently.
"I'd rather we didn't."
They sat quietly for a minute, before Mal asked, "So how's River?"
"Better. I think."
"Reconciled with the fact that she's an experiment?"
Freya smiled. "She's always known that. At least from the Academy time, anyway."
"Yeah, but we're talking a mite further back than that."
"I know."
"So do you think she'll be okay?"
"Are you missing your albatross?"
"Well, yeah. Kinda."
"I don't know, Mal. I don't know if she'll be okay. I hope so."
"You going to talk to her?"
"Simon asked me to, but I wasn't sure."
"You should. You know how she looks on you."
"I'm not her mother."
"Does it matter if there's not blood involved?"
Freya thought for a moment. "You know, it doesn't."
He smiled. "Do you think you might be the same?"
"You mean the chicken and the egg thing?"
"If you're talking about Blue Sun and experiments, yeah."
Freya shrugged. "I don't know. I think it's possible, although damn hard to prove." She laughed a little. "It's not like I can wave my parents and ask if they had us created."
Mal stroked her belly. "But you said your twin had no psychic abilities."
"Alex? No. But maybe they implanted two … or perhaps my mother was pregnant anyway." She put her hand on his. "There's certainly no evidence of any kind of ESP in the Rostov line before. Not like Kaylee's family, where the women seem to have been gifted for generations."
He looked down at her. "You think reading tea leaves is a gift?"
"Sure. And you're damn lucky it came out in Kaylee as a skill with machinery."
"Oh, I'm thankful every day. And you shouldn't swear. I have it on good authority that babies can hear that kind of thing even in the womb."
"Zoe?"
"Zoe." He kissed her forehead. "So you might not even have been a Rostov."
"Nope. I could be anyone."
"So there's no point in me waiting for you to inherit a fortune."
"None whatsoever."
"I don't know," he said, rubbing his nose gently against her ear. "All this time wasted."
"You think?"
"No." He sighed, and she felt the short hair on her neck move. "You know, Alex could still be your brother. I mean, if Andrew was right, and it was the male line in Simon's genes that carries the ability, could be he carries yours too. Just dormant."
"I hope not." She shivered. "Seriously. If that's the case and he has children …"
"Then he isn't. And the things you told me he used to do to tease you … can't believe your twin would do that." He licked her ear lobe.
"Are you going to be doing more of that?" she asked.
"More of what?"
"That."
"Probably."
"Then shouldn't you lock the door?"
He grinned. "Already did."
