Wash flicked the switch for the autopilot, stood up and stretched. It had been a long day, and he was ready for his bed. Taking one last look at Serenity’s dials and screens, making sure there was nothing needing his urgent attention, he turned and headed towards the galley. Just one more cup of coffee, he promised as he passed the entrance to his bunk, knowing Zoe was already in bed.

The pot was still warm, at least enough for him, and he poured himself a mug, savouring the aroma before taking a mouthful. Funny how it always smelled better than it tasted, he considered, at least when it was this fake coffee stuff. Now, the real thing, that was liquid gold on the tongue as well as in the nose. He grinned. Not that he liked his coffee up his nose. Seemed such a waste. Course, there was that time on Beylix …

He ambled back along the corridor, carrying the cup, glancing at the different doors as he went along. They were a good crew, from little Kaylee to the doc, from his crazy sister to … well, even Jayne. Good people.

At the hatch to his bunk he paused a moment, taking a deep breath, smelling the aroma of the Firefly. No other ship had quite the same fragrance, something uniquely hers. Old metal, hot engine, a touch of Jasmine probably wafting from Inara’s shuttle, the scent of gun oil coming up from Jayne’s room … it all blended into a perfume he’d recognise anywhere. He grinned. Always did love that smell.

Pushing the hatch open he climbed down the ladder. “Honey, I’m home,” he called. He stepped further inside the room. “ Dung ee miao .”

Zoe wasn’t alone. Another man lay under the covers next to her, on his side, his arm laid casually over her, his brown hair mussed and sticking every which way.

“Oh yeah,” Wash said quietly. “That’s right. I’m dead.”

He looked down to his chest and picked a sliver of wood off the front of his flightsuit.

“Funny how you forget sometimes,” he added, sniffing deeply of the cup of coffee in his hand before throwing the contents down