TITLE: "ISSUES OF TRUST"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

FANDOM: "FIREFLY"

PAIRING: Zoe/Wash. Kaylee/Simon.

RATING: G.

STATUS: Sequel to "MIXED FORTUNES".

ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.

FEEDBACK: Welcomed.

EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com

WEBSITE: None. All Firefly stories archived at Fireflyfans.net

SUMMARY: "Inara decides it is time to get some help. Simon

makes an unwelcome decision. Meanwhile things get even worse

for Badger."

The usual disclaimers apply. The characters and 'Firefly'

are the property and gift of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

No infringement of copyright is intended.

"ISSUES OF TRUST"

"Firefly" story

Written by Alison M. DOBELL

* * * * *

The silence in the room should have been uncomfortable but it wasn't. Rather it was a place of peace and tranquility, as restful as a leafy arbour. Inara Serra felt her anxieties become more muted concerns, the need for vengeance a more remote expression of what was driving her. Her face tilted up to where the House Mistress sat, not behind her desk but in a chair facing her troubled charge.

"Perhaps you should start from the beginning, Inara?"

She took a breath as if to inhale the atmosphere of the room and becalm her trembling soul. Outwardly she had settled as soon as she had stepped into the House Mistress's presence but inwardly all the worries and anxieties remained at war. Calling on her Companion training Inara brought them to a cease fire and found it easier to distance herself just a little from the emotional turmoil of the last few weeks. "It was while I was still on the ship Serenity, Mother. I received a wave from an old, and formerly dear friend."

The House Mother's eyebrows rose but no comment passed her lips. This was Inara's story not hers.

"She told me," Inara paused and stilled her hands which had started twisting together in her lap "she told me that my brother had not simply died in the War. That he