The next few days seemed to pass in something of a pleasurable blur. The rain continued, but that didn’t stop the children from playing outside, nor the big kids (namely Jayne, Hank and River) from joining in and getting just as muddy and then arguing over who got to use the bathroom first.

Inara had been taken back to her own room in the house after hours of reasoned argument. The fact that Simon had only given in when she got out the big guns of a single tear running down her cheek and a faintly quivering lip was beside the point.

“Just proves he’s an old softie,” Kaylee confided to Freya later, having witnessed the entire proceedings. “There ain’t no-one can stand against that kinda heavy artillery.”

Inara wasn’t, though, able to shift Simon on his insistence that she not walk anywhere for at least a fortnight, so she was transferred from Serenity on a litter knocked together by Mr Boden and Jayne and carried by the big ex-merc and Hank. To keep the rain off her there was an awning supported on four long poles and managed by Dillon, Breed, Alex and Mal, who complained mightily that it was below his station as captain to be treated like a servant.

River didn’t help matters by insisting on dancing in front strewing late flowers along the path and referring to Inara as ‘your majesty’. At least this time she was wearing underthings beneath her soaked dress, so Mal’s potential heart attack was averted. All in all, the mission was accomplished with little damage beyond a pulled muscle (Hank, who was revived with the promise of hot chocolate and brandy) and Kaylee taking a few captures for, as she put it, posterity. Or possibly blackmail.

That afternoon Monty announced he had to be getting along.

“That job won’t wait forever,” he growled, standing on Serenity’s ramp out of the rain as Carrie-Ann began to power up.

“Thanks, Monty,” Mal said, holding out his hand then not being surprised to find himself enveloped in a bear hug.

“Hey, it’s what we do. Ain’t no point in wearing this coat