Chapter 3

The next morning Juliet wakes in her room in the passenger dorm. It’s small and quite plain, but far better than she’s used to. Getting up, she pulls on her Kevlar vest and the new jumpsuit lent to her by Kaylee. It had been a little bit too long for her so Kaylee had pinned up at the ankles. She ties up her combat boots, smiling at the neat rows of safety pins holding the material. Kaylee’s a good person, cheerful and kind in everything she does, yet Juliet can tell there’s something bothering her, making her nervous, giving her bad dreams. Sighing, Juliet combs out her long red hair and twists it up into a rather messy bun, resolving to try and help the mechanic out any way she can. As she walks out, she straps her holster on, over the jumpsuit this time, settling her little gun comfortably in it. They may be in deep space, but that didn’t necessarily mean they were alone. Sliding open the fiberglass door, she makes her way up through the ship to the dining area.

Serenity. She’s a nice ship, thinks Juliet, as she walks slowly up, trailing her hand along the metal of the corridor. She can feel the memories of the people who have walked the self same route, pulsing through her. Most notable are Mal and River, their hands following the same trail as her own. Serenity is their home. Maybe, finally, this could also be her’s.

She stands in the doorway to the dining area, watching Mal, Zoë, Wash and Inara sit around one end of the table, eating breakfast. Kaylee and Jayne sit on the couches playing some sort of card game, which, Juliet notes with interest, Jayne is letting Kaylee win.

Mal is first to notice her. “Hey Jule,” he says, and Juliet feels her heart flutter at the shortened version of her name. “Want some breakfast? We got blue protein, pink protein, green protein, hell we even got moldy protein if you happen to like that kind of thing.” He grins at her and she smiles warmly back, sits down and takes a couple of bits of the protein, but avoids the blue ones. She’d never liked them for some re