Jubal Early was sent on a one-way spacewalk and everyone seemed to instantly forget that he ever existed. Not ten minutes after Mal closed Serenity up behind him and already the shepherd was spotting Jayne and Kaylee was grinning as she taught River to play jacks. Of course, Simon was in the infirmary…as the patient, which was a mite unusual. But if no one thought on that point, it seemed the bounty hunter was nothing more than a collective bad dream, brought on by a bad batch of engine alcohol.

Just the same, Mal kept busy as everyone else turned in for the night. One by one they went to sleep, leaving him to sit in the co-pilot’s chair and kept a sharp eye on the black stretched out ahead. That’s what happens when you get too comfortable. Defenses drop and the enemy has the perfect opportunity to catch you with your back turned. It unsettled him more than a little that he’d let it happen on his ship.

Every half hour, Mal rose from his chair and walked the same path around the ship. It all looked the same: dark, quiet, all as it should be. On his third trip around, he heard a noise coming from the engine room. His right hand immediately came to rest on his holster as he crept closer, prepped for more trouble.

He rounded the corner silently and found Kaylee crouched down the floor in the corner, crying her eyes out. Mal removed his hand from his gun.

“Kaylee,” he called out softly.

She tensed and let out a terrified whimper. Slowly, Kaylee stood up and turned around, backing away as she went. Her hands out in front of her like a defense, she refused to meet his eyes.

“Please don’t…” she begged.

“Kaylee,” Mal repeated, confused. “It’s me, mei mei.”

She looked up then and he saw a flash of wild fear cross her features before giving way to recognition. It twinged at his heart a bit that she’d look at him like that.

Kaylee swallowed and offered a weak smile through her tears. “’Course it’s you, Cap’n. Who else would it be?”

Mal studied her for a long moment. “You wanna tell me why my