Firefly and Serenity are the copyrighted property of Mutant Enemy Productions and 20th Century Studios, Inc. This fiction item is intended for entertainment purposes only. While all characters, settings, and plot elements associated with the original work are the property of the copyright holders and/or other creators as indicated, any original characters, settings, and plot elements are the property of this item's author. No compensation has been received or will be accepted, and no copyright infringement is intended or should be implied.
Movement
Mal is walking through the passenger dorm toward the cargo bay when he hears what sounds like music. He stops. There is no player set here. Who has brought what onto his ship?
After listening for a moment, he hears the sound of running water and smiles. It is Zoë. Zoë is taking a shower. And she is singing while she does so.
It's been a long time since he has heard Zoë sing in the shower. He had wondered if she ever would again. She has been so quiet since Miranda. Since Mr. Universe's moon. Since the split second when Wash died before her eyes.
Mal is alone in the passenger dorm, and his errand in the cargo bay can wait a few minutes. Everyone else is busy with their own activities. They will not see him stand in the middle of the lounge and listen while Zoë sings. It's something about flying away and never turning back. It's a song he's heard before, but not in a long time, and never from Zoë. Mal thinks she sounds better than whoever first recorded the song.
He remembers the first time he heard her sing. It was during the war. He'd noted absently that her speaking voice was melodious, that it had a bit of music in it. But one afternoon when she started leading a marching song, he realized that her speaking voice was nearly cacophony when compared with her singing voice.
Mal has always loved to hear Zoë sing.
The water shuts off about the same time he hears footsteps on the stairs. He checks to make sure his face is wearing a proper captain-y expression. Nobody else needs to see him, standing in the middle of the lounge, doing nothing except listening and smiling.
Jayne appears before Mal finishes his trip to the cargo bay. "Was that Zoë? She singing again?"
The door to the shower room opens and she emerges, hair still damp. She seems a little defensive. "Yeah, that was me. What about it?"
"Nothing," says Mal. He thinks it is good to see that things are getting back to normal. Serenity is flying again. Zoë is singing again. Things are moving again, and it's in the right direction.
Jayne nods, echoing his answer. "Nothing."
Zoë shrugs, tosses her towel over her shoulders, and makes her way back toward the crew quarters. She is almost out of earshot when Mal speaks again. "It's good to hear you singing."
She stops. Puts a hand on the door sill and half-turns back toward them. Jayne is still standing there, the smile on his face the same as the one Mal wore a few minutes ago. Zoë addresses them both. "It's good to feel like singing again."
Then she starts back toward her destination, and they go on with their day.