A short one, with a little person. These Characters belong to Joss, i'm just borrowing them for a while. Can't wait for the Big Damn Movie!

***

Hope raged. Hope wailed. Hope was definitely Zoe's daughter.

"(God in Heaven)", Wash muttered, as he sat up. Beside him, Zoe was stirring. She must have just gotten back to sleep from the last time, he thought. Wash touched her arm and whispered (well, spoke more quietly than their baby girl), "I've got her, Zo'." She relaxed and drifted back to sleep. Wash sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, then went to Hope as she decided she was being ignored and her wails redoubled.

"Shush, little one." Her diaper was okay and her belly was full, but Hope was moving her tongue around, running it over her first little tooth. Wash put a little of the pain rub they'd gotten from Simon for this on his finger and applied it to her gums. It must have tasted awful, from the face that Hope made. She complained, tiredly, at the injustice of the 'verse, not so loud as before, but Wash knew she could go on for a quite a while. So he put Hope in the little baby sling that Jayne, of all people, had surprised them with and climbed up the ladder and to the bridge.

Wash settled into his pilot's chair with Hope in front of him, where she could see what he was doing while he worked and steal dinosaurs from him when he played. Presently he had looked at all Serenity's systems. Hope was gumming the T. Rex (Wash had moved the Stegasaur to safety, much to her highness' displeasure). Hope sensed that he was done and threw the plastic dinosaur away. Wash smiled. "Thus ever to tyrants, little one?" Hope cooed at him. "Time for a lullabye, and not one of River's fairy tales?" Wash leaned back and started to sing.

"Way out in big town airport, in hangar # 4,

Lived a lonely little biplane, his name was Evermore.

His working days were over, and no more did he sail,

Upon his wings, above the clouds, flying the U.S. Mail."

Inarra was up and making herself some tea in the common area