CHAPTER 1 - THE GREAT CHEF RESCUE

Harriet had thought of Serenity as her home for nigh on 18 months now. When she had first been recruited to cook for the crew there had only been Mal, Zoë and Wash aboard and some terrifyingly dumb mechanic. Luckily Mal had got rid of him and taken on Kaylee a couple of weeks after she came on board and since then Serenity had been pretty much always in the sky. She liked the travel, the people didn't always suck (except for Jayne), the life was one she enjoyed and they seemed to like her food. She was canny about getting all the fresh fruit and veg she could at the cheapest prices and if some of her own cut went on small luxuries like strawberries for Kaylee and chocolate for Wash, no one need know. If sometimes the others remarked on how she was able to make the money for food stretch so far, she'd smile, brush it off and continue to fill the refrigerating unit. It would have compromised her off-hand demeanour no end if the rest of the crew had known how much she really loved them.

Her talent for excellent and hearty grub had in any event endeared her to many of the crew. Wash, Jayne and River would follow her around like puppies, particularly on Wednesday (baking day). Even Mal, irritated by another job not going smooth, could be rendered almost human by one of her special flapjacks, made with real oats.

The upside of that horrible moment when the engine blew and they thought Zoë might die and that the Captain was dead, was that the refrigerating compartment had been shut off like everything else and all her carefully frozen dinners had begun to thaw out in those few hours before everything got really cold again. There was nothing for it but a huge party where all the spoiled food was cooked and eaten, fruit savoured and vegetables relished. Book said it was what the church would call a Harvest Festival, a thanksgiving for food and friends. It certainly put colour into even Simon's pale cheeks and River was more lucid than usual enthusing over Harriet's suppers. Ka