Kaylee walked with her hand in her mother's back to Serenity . They had spent all day going through old baby clothes and re-telling of Kaylee's childhood and Winna's birthing stories. Kaylee was grateful to Cale for keeping his wife at home, so that she could have her mother to herself for once. Everyone else seemed to have something else to do, and Simon had suggested Kaylee take the time to tell her parents. Daddy had then taken Simon off - probably to smoke, since Daddy hated to smoke alone - and Kaylee's mother had hugged her close with happy tears in her eyes.

Now, as they walked back, on their last day, Kaylee knew there was only one thing that could possibly make it better.

"Now, I don't want you t'worry bout a thing," Kaylee said to her mother. "We'll bring the baby back jus' as soon as we can so's you can meet him and his uncles can teach him t'grow up strong like them. And if he's a she, then Maura can teach her to make those strawberry rhubarb pies I love."

"That'll be somethin' t'see," Momma smiled. "An infant learnin' to cook better'n her ma."

"Oh, we'll try to bring her back soon," Kaylee smiled apologetically. "But I...it's hard sometimes. T'come home again."

"It's always hard to come home again," Momma sighed. "It's harder still to leave again. The trick is to leave one home for another. You're leavin' us again, but you're off to your other home, off in th'stars."

"Shootin' for the moon ain't so bad when it's reachable," Kaylee grinned.

"So I come to understand," Momma nodded. She stopped walking and Kaylee turned to her questioningly.

"Don't be mad at Mauralan," the older woman instructed. "She worried so 'bout you and 'bout me gettin' on without ya. Everyone else stayed so close, she thought I'd break when my baby flew off on a tired ship with barely a word's notice."

" Serenity ain't tired, Momma!" Kaylee interrupted.

"I know that, now, lamb," came the response. "It was hard, though, to see it then. Your sister tried t'fill the space you l