It was quiet. Very quiet. Without the normal sound of the engine, something they were so used to it seemed like nothing at all, and with no crew to shout or laugh or bicker, he was able to hear every tick, groan and wince of his ship.

There’d been times when he’d wished he was alone, that there was nobody to disturb his isolation, but that had been when it wasn’t solitude he felt, but depression. He might have tried to give Zoe the impression that he was fine, that being out in the Black was shiny, that it had mended his soul, but both of them knew he was lying.

It had taken a long time to get to where he was now – scarred, for sure, physically and mentally but mostly intact – and it had been a long journey, littered with births, deaths, and everything in between, but at least he didn’t wish they’d all go away anymore. In fact, pretty much the opposite right now, and standing in the cargo bay, knowing there was only Frey and him on board, felt wrong.

Mal, she’s here.

Freya’s mental voice rolled softly through his brain, and he felt a vibration start in the base of his belly, followed by a clang, then a ripping sound like a thousand weaves being pulled off, all at the same time.

“If’n River’s scratched my ship, I’m gonna be more than peeved.”

As if she would. She loves Serenity almost as much as you.

As much as she loves me, or as much as I love Serenity?

Do not go down that path. The faint warning tone of his wife’s mental voice made him smile slightly even as he pushed down on the atmo equalizer, waiting for the light to go green before he took hold of the handle.

“I thought I was gonna have to come over in a suit,” Kaylee said as he pulled the door open. “But River found Katya has a mating mechanism. She says no-one’s ever used it.”

“She staying over there?”

“Nope, just making sure everything’s shut down, then she’s gonna come over and help.” Kaylee was already on her way across the cargo bay to the common area. “’Though I got an idea, seeing how she’s s