Set six months after the BDM, with standard pairings: Simon and Kaylee, Mal and Inara angst.

If you haven’t read from the start, I would recommend going back to chapter 1 - http://www.fireflyfans.net/bluesun.aspx?bid=19146

Of course - Its Joss’s world and his characters, but I sure enjoy playing with them.

Thanks to Mal4prez for the wonderful beta type advice and thanks to my wonderful husband for catching more typo’s than there are planets in the verse.

Thanks to all the folks who took the time to leave me such wonderful comments. They make me want to write even more…..Does that make me a comment slut?

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Chapter 3

Kaylee quickly shut the airlock door. So much for opening the doors to let in some fresh air, she thought. It was as cold as deep space out there. She shivered at the thought of all that cold air filling up Serenity. They’d have to turn on the engine just to heat up the ship; what a waste of fuel.

Just the same, she stared out the airlock’s one tiny diamond shaped window. Outside, the Shelton Docks were covered with a blanket of new fallen snow making everything look clean and fresh. However, even Kaylee knew it would not remain that way for long. She counted at least six factory sized smokestacks in the general vicinity. Most of the houses and buildings seemed to have wood burning stoves as well. It would not be long before all this snow was covered with a thin layer of black soot.

It amazed Kaylee that the cold did not stop the hustle and bustle of commerce in the area. Back home, when the weather got harsh, everyone hunkered down inside their warm houses unless they absolutely had to go somewhere. On this planet though, people were everywhere, all of them dressed in thick boots and puffy down coats. Even here, near the planet’s pole, where the sun gave only a dim hint of light during the middle of the day, people went about outside conducting their business. Remembering the map she had seen, it occurred to her that most of the green zones were i