They left Hera, but didn’t go far, just to the Arachnids to wait for the Alliance to finish mopping up, Serenity and Columbine sitting cheek by jowl, hidden by the mineral deposits in the spider and her children.

At least, most of them left.

“Jayne, River. You’re staying.” Mal looked at the pair. “Clean up. Anything the Alliance might find, make sure they don’t.”

“Good idea,” the big man said.

“Yeah, well, sometimes I have ‘em.” He added, “Just … don’t get caught.”

River stared at him until he began to feel uncomfortable, then she and Jayne turned, heading back towards the ruins of the Abbey.

The Feds never did find Mara Tam’s body, not knowing River and Jayne had hidden it, well away from prying eyes and any scientists who had the notion to try cloning her. They laid her to rest in a tiny alcove behind a rockfall, covered by a cairn and invisible to anyone not psychic, and River said a prayer over her while Jayne stood, his head bowed and his hands clasped together in front of him, waiting patiently until she’d finished. Then they went and destroyed every single piece of paper in Quintana’s office, wiping his computer for good measure.

“What about surveillance?” the big man asked, watching the flames consume the last of the hand written notes. “Wouldn’t want us being here to come back and bite us in the ass.”

“When Freya destroyed the communications centre most recordings went with it. Apart from this.” She held up a memory wafer, turning it to catch the light and refract it into a rainbow of colours. “Pretty,” she breathed.

“Yeah.” He watched her face. “You ain’t planning on keeping it, are you?”

“No.” She dropped it into the fire, the plastic melting immediately, sparking a little as the heat caused the microcircuitry to explode. “All gone.”

“I’ll buy you something pretty next time we’re near a store,” he promised. “Prettier’n that.”

She smiled at him, and he knew he was never going to see anything as pretty as her in his whole life. Her smile widened, and h