“Of course they can stay.” Inara looked towards the children frolicking in the orchard with all of the dogs. “You don’t even need to ask. This is as much their home as mine.”

Serenity had touched down the night before, too late for anything other than a hurried hello and a promise to meet for breakfast. Now that everyone was full to almost bursting point from Ms Boden’s magical touch, Mal had taken Inara for a walk to talk about the real reason for their visit.

“Sure Sam won’t object?” Mal asked, thumbs wedged firmly in his pants pockets.

“Why should he?”

“I don’t know. Having his space invaded by a load of folks under four feet tall.”

Inara smiled. “You obviously don’t know him as well as you think you do.”

“But you do?”

She led him to the ornate cast-iron chair. “Mal, we’ve talked about having children, and this will be good practice for him.”

He sat down slowly. “Put him off the idea, you mean.”

“No. In fact entirely the opposite.”

He stared at her, glad his buttocks were already on the cold metal. “’Nara, you saying you’re … pregnant?”

She shook her head. “Not yet.” Smoothing her dress automatically, she added, “But I want a child. With Sam.”

“It’s that serious?”

“I love him.”

“Like you loved me?” The instant he said it he wished he hadn’t, but she merely folded her hands in her lap and gazed at him.

“No. It’s quite different. You were a flame I was drawn to like a moth, so close I was singeing my wings. Sam is the banked coals, all heat and passion beneath the surface.”

He wondered briefly at the flash of jealousy that shot through him, but realised it was probably always going to be that way. He had loved her, and he had to admit he’d felt something of the same when Kaylee fell for the doctor, and Zoe for the pilot. Not with River, though, although that was probably something to do with knowing that she looked on him as her father. So a touch of jealousy was to be expected, if not approved of. He said quickly, “So he’s the one got c