TITLE: "MEMORY"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

FANDOM: "FIREFLY"

PAIRING: No specific pairing.

RATING: PG-13.

STATUS: New.

ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.

FEEDBACK: Welcomed.

EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com

WEBSITE: http://carlajane.50megs.com/Ali00.html

SUMMARY: "Finally things go smooth. That in itself should

have been all the warning they needed."

The usual disclaimers apply. The characters and 'Firefly'

are the property and gift of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

No infringement of copyright is intended.

"MEMORY"

A "Firefly" story

Written by Alison M. DOBELL

* * * * *

Captain Malcolm Reynolds felt happy. Content even. Not that he liked doing work for Badger but for once they had a decent pay off and the job had not entailed any near run-ins with the Alliance or Badger pulling out on them and leaving them scratching their butts high and dry. No. This time what was said was done. The job had been a simple if heavy cargo run. Parts for farm equipment. Tractors and seeders, even an old ploughshare though he had yet to see signs of a horse to pull it. He smiled. Inhaled the rich loamy scent on the air and took a moment to just feel good. These were decent people. Solid. Honest. Working folk. He knew their like bone-deep. It settled in him like a hush of welcome. A familiarity that touched him with an aching sweetness. Like a memory of home. Not that he would ever mention such things to his crew. Didn't want no one thinking he was going soft. But here, in his private moments, he could luxuriate in the notion of feeling at peace. This planet, Glory, was not simply a world left in some kind of Alliance time-warp. Not some technology poor ass-end of Hell. It was a window to their shared past. When people came before coin. When the land was mother and father to each and every one of them. When neighbours rallied round to defend and to cherish. This was not just some wastehole of a planet. It was a hom