It was what Mal had always half-expected his life to turn out like. Or, rather, what he’d expected prior to Serenity Valley. Settled on some nice little moon just outside total Alliance control, but just close enough to keep things smooth. Beautiful wife, wonderful kids, working, but not living, on a ranch with a thirty minute commute by shuttle. Really, the only surprise was that said beautiful wife, whom, really, beautiful was an understatement for, was a former companion.

They had a nice little house, two floors. Started as a three bedroom, still mostly was. Mal was working on an extension to make for a new master bedroom so the boys wouldn’t have to share anymore. They were driving each other up one wall, ‘cross the ceiling and down the other. Well, it was mostly James that did the driving. Connor tried to keep to spending time with lil’ Jolie, didn’t work so well. James was everywhere, him and his lighter. As Mal opened his front door and stepped inside after work, the smell of burning plastic hit him in the face and he, not for the first time, regretted giving in to his pyromaniac sons’ demands for a lighter. A rather creative Chinese expression got him around saying something Inara wouldn’t approve of the boys hearing. Hurrying for James room, his suspicion was confirmed by the smell getting stronger. He didn’t knock, his youngest son was a master at hiding evidence with even moments of warning.

The door flew open, James looked up, first surprised, then guilty, then an imminent faux innocent expression crossed his face as he explained “Mom asked me to get rid of her shopping bags for her.” Mal stared at his son, then glanced around the room. Several plastic shopping bags littered the floor. They didn’t have enough money for Inara to shop all that much at once. His eye fell on a bag from Joe’s Depot, which had closed three months ago. At his disbelieving look, James changed the subject. “I took precautions.” Here he pointed at a large pot setting in front of him, still smoking