***

Chapter Four

“That oughtta hold her,” Kaylee said with pride. One of the instrument panels on the bridge had broken and while it was something that Wash could likely fix, he felt that Kaylee was better suited to the task. The mechanic had eagerly bounded onto the bridge and completed the repairs. She rolled out from under the panel, hopped to her feet, and wiped her hands on her jumpsuit.

“How did you do it?” Wash asked.

Kaylee talked him through the specifics of the repair, thereby convincing Wash that he could fix it himself next time it broke.

“But that’s only gonna hold her a few more times,” Kaylee concluded. “We really need a new part. Guess we can add it to the list, huh.”

Wash shrugged. “That list is as long as the back hall,” he said. “But until we get another job, there’s not much we can do about any of them. And they’re always going to take a back-seat to things such as, you know, food and water and fuel. Minor items.”

“I know,” Kaylee said, shaking her head as if to dismiss the topic. She hated dwelling on their predicament. During the past few months, the situation in the ‘verse had continued to degenerate. Serenity’s last job had been three months ago. Kaylee was now completely used to hunger gnawing at her insides; her stomach had adjusted and the pangs came less frequently. One day Kaylee had observed Jayne opening the spice cabinet, reaching the jar of thyme and eating bits of the spice by itself.

“So how’s Tess?” Kaylee asked, eager for a more pleasant topic. The question was a bit superfluous given that Kaylee, and the rest of the crew, saw the baby every day due to the close quarters they lived in. Kaylee especially enjoyed babysitting Tess whenever Zoe and Wash needed a few moments of quiet.

Inara had shipped a present for Tess to the postal station in Persephone, but the crew wasn’t near the planet and didn’t know when they would have enough fuel to stop by there.

“Oh, she’s just adorable. I think she’s going to look like me,” Wash replied with overstated p