The next time Serenity was planetside, Mal found out the hard way that rosemary was not a spice common folk could afford, but after an hour or so of trying to haggle the vendors down with little to no success, Mal gave in and paid the steep price. Zoe and her baby were worth every bit of it, he decided, even though he blew most of their grocery budget on the smallish canister and all he had to cook with it was protein mush, rice and canned peas.

He spent the better part of the afternoon in the kitchen pondering how much rosemary was enough for six servings-worth of protein. He never did pay the Shepherd no mind when he was cooking, and it was an action he was regretting. Finally, he reckoned that if a tablespoon was good, a cup was better, and up-ended the tin over the mixing bowl.

Mal was too busy watching Zoe at dinner to notice the faces his crew were making, until Jayne heaved a loud, exaggerated sigh. "What's your problem, Jayne?" Mal asked, annoyed.

"Sick of it's my problem," Jayne said. "Zoe, gei ji ren zhi fan shi gaung liang , quit pushin' that go se around your plate an' eat it!"

Zoe bristled. "Since when do I take orders from the hired gun?"

"Since when would Wash want you starvin' his baby to death?" Jayne shot back, and everyone gaped at him, including Zoe.

"Man's got a point," Mal said, deciding to use Jayne's shock value to his advantage. "Can't take care of the baby if you can't take care of yourself. Eat up."

Zoe fumed silently for a moment. "Smells good," she admitted grudgingly.

"Tastes like ass," Jayne replied. "But you'll eat it anyway."

Zoe took a bite of her dinner and made a choking noise.

"You okay?" Mal said quickly.

"Always did wonder what ass tasted like, sir," Zoe deadpanned. "Now I know. What exactly did you do to this, Cap'n?"

"Do to it?" Mal frowned. "Just put rosemary in it, like Shepherd used to done."

"But Shepherd could cook," Zoe said, smiling for what everyone was fairly sure was the first time since Wash's death.

"It's t