Chapter 11

“Ever miss it, Sir?” Zoe said as they crouched behind a large rock wall. A battalion of soldiers sat around them, some worriedly looking over their shoulders, some eagerly swallowing down the one meal they would have today.

For now, the fighting had stopped.

“To which it are you referrin’ at this particular time?” Mal spooned some rations into his mouth and chewed quickly.

“Serenity.”

Mal paused with a spoon halfway to his mouth. “Nope.”

Zoe glanced out into the darkness then at the small slit of a moon overhead. “Good to know I ain’t loosin’ my touch, sir.”

Mal raised an eyebrow and Zoe would have laughed if circumstances had been different. She let him think for a moment before clueing him in on her train of thought.

“I can still tell when you’re lying.”

She went back to her meal but heard Mal snort in response. He said nothing more and she pushed another bite into her mouth before balancing the can on her thigh so she could give him all her attention.

“I miss ‘em,” she said. “All of ‘em. I wonder where they are. Yes, even those that aren’t here no more.” She wondered briefly why she wanted to talk about this. Therapeutic, she supposed. Maybe it was just time to talk. They hadn’t done much of that since they’d re-enlisted.

“We got a job to do, Zoe.”

She glanced around, before settling her dark eyes on his can of beans. “Yes, hard work spooning those big, defenseless beans into your mouth. Whatever will you do if they decide to resist the torture?”

Mal’s eyes shot up and she let out a short, barely audible snort of laughter. “Interesting sense of humor you’ve developed there,” he said.

“Wash did teach me a few things.” The admission was quiet, and only Mal heard, but it was enough to sober his reaction over her talking about their lost friends. A moment of silence followed before Mal spoke.

“Kaylee once said that some people come into our lives and turn right around and leave again just to make a mark on us.”

It was Zoe who paused wi