Some time after 11.00 pm …

A log broke open into a shower of sparks, dancing and twisting around each other as they sped up the chimney and out into the night.

Serenity’s crew were congregated in the kitchen at the Frye house, sitting on the various chairs, or the floor if that suited them.

The children had been put to bed in Ellie and Eddie’s room, all bundled up together under the heavy patchwork quilt, having each been assured that Kaylee was fine, and allowed to see the new arrival for just a few minutes. Most of them were sleeping, although Bethie was still awake, staring out of the window through a crack in the curtains at the hard pinpricks of stars, thinking about her new baby brother.

“Going to have such fun,” she whispered, feeling Hope shift slightly next to her but not wake up. “Such fun.” She smiled and closed her eyes.

Eddie had bunked in with Peter, while Ellie was dozing in the parlour, ostensibly keeping an eye on her daughter as she slept the exhaustion of the new mother, but really enjoying the peace and quiet, like the aftermath of a storm.

Simon sat in the corner of the kitchen by the fireplace, picking what turned out to be the most advantageous spot in the room where he could see everything and everyone. Not that he was listening to his friends talking, at least not with his conscious brain. That was reserved for the baby asleep in his arms.

David had been washed, then dressed in some of the tiny clothes Kaylee had bought at the Skyplex, including tiny booties that wouldn’t have gone on Jayne’s thumb. The dark blue blanket wrapped around him was from River, knitted with love over the past few months, and embroidered with giant sunflowers. Scattered amongst them were tiny daisies, done by the crew, and causing more than one incident of yelling and sucking on pricked fingers. A corner had been left untouched for Inara, Sam, Dillon, Breed and Alex, along with Noni and the other Reilly girls, to add their own when the occasion arose.

The little boy