CHAPTER 8

Zoë poked gingerly at the stitches on her arm, trying to itch them without ripping them out. She leaned against Serenity’s kitchen counter, waiting for the cappuccino maker to finish. It was a departure gift from Mama Reynolds, and had been well used over the past two days since they still had fresh ingredients.

Jackson sat at the kitchen table, practicing his lettering, sporting a red, orange, and yellow knit hat that Kaylee had given him, claiming he was her personal hero. Jayne’s hat. Zoë recognized the silly article immediately, figuring it came out of the same closet where River had found Wash’s old dinosaur. Zoë needed to find this closet that seemed to be storing Serenity’s past. When she first came aboard, she thought the ship had been sterilized of those memories; now it seemed that little morsels of history could leak out of the bulkheads at will.

And now, here was her son, sporting Jayne’s hat, already on his way to being a big damn hero at the age of eight. Jackson admired Serenity’s former merc too much, perhaps because he had only heard of all of Jayne’s virtues and none of the vices. If Jackson wanted to follow her into the crime business, he needed to practice his shot and learn to handle the long guns. And for the love of God, she’d make sure he had a decent education and a proper respect for womenfolk!

Mal entered the room abruptly, stealing the first cup of cappuccino before Zoë could get at it, then giving it to her when she glared sternly at him. After pouring himself the second cup of the frothy beverage, he took a quick drink, giving himself a foam mustache. Jackson smothered a giggle in his hand and Zoë couldn’t help but smile.

“What?” Mal asked, though he knew full well why they were smiling.

“You look silly,” Jackson laughed.

“Says the little man with the hat!”

*~*

For lack of a free weight, Simon had found a heavy wrench and put it in Kaylee’s hand, asking her to do bicep curls with it. Whatever had been hindering Kaylee’s healing before was now fueling