Disclaimer thingy: Firefly/Serenity are owned by other folks and not by me, though I appreciate being able to write some stuff purely for fun inspired by the Firefly 'Verse. All constructive comments and feedback from you shiny readers out there much appreciated!

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Serenity was cruising along on autopilot, following her pre-set course to Athens; so Mal was not surprised when he found Zoë absent from the bridge. The galley was also empty. Pausing for a moment in thought, he backtracked up the fore deck and stopped outside the door of Zoë’s cabin. He looked at the cabin door, frowning. Formerly Kaylee’s room, the door had once borne a cheerful sign decorated with Kaylee’s name and flowers. Once Zoë had moved out of her and Wash’s old cabin, freeing it up for Kaylee and Simon, she had settled into Kaylee’s bunk quietly and with typical lack of ceremony.

Mal lifted a hand and knocked on the metal. “Zoë? You down there?” There was a pause then the door opened, Zoë standing at the foot of the ladder beneath. “Anything wrong, sir?”

“Nothin’ wrong,” answered Mal. “Got a minute?” Zoë nodded, and stepped back from the ladder. Mal climbed down, pushing the cabin door shut behind him. Zoë moved back and sat down on her bunk, her eyes steady on him. Mal took the chair beside him, his eyes moving briefly across the room. There was a quiet orderliness that he recognized, an absence of clutter that was calming but also spartan. His eye caught on one thing, hanging on the wall beside the bed: a capture of Wash at the helm of Serenity, smiling over his shoulder into the lens. It was clear from the look on his face that the person taking the picture had been Zoë herself.

“Sir?” Zoë’s query brought Mal’s gaze back to her. “What was it you wanted to speak about?”

“Uh…” Mal got his thoughts back into the room. “Need to fill you in on our non-paying passenger. I had some words with him this morning, to find out just how exactly his path