“I ain’t eatin’ that!”

“Caroline, that’s breakfast. River’s eating it. Sides you don’t got much choice. What’s the Cap’n goin’ ta say?”

“Still ain’t eatin’ that.” Caroline looked at River who was pushing her spoon around in the bowl “It’s gross. Tastes like niu shi. An food taint that color. Ain’t natural, foods not grey. Only Alliance food is that color.”

“Niu shi” River added emphatically, her hair drooping over the bowl like a waterfall. “Not food.”

Jayne looked up from sluping up his second bowl of mush. “I ’gree with ‘em; but, it’s food. Better then goin’ hungry.”

Caroline stuck her spoon in the bowl and pulled it back out watching the grey stuff slide off it in clumps. “I’ll go hungry then.”

“Xin gan, Cap’n said if’fn you didn’t eat it for breakfast you was eating it for lunch.” Kaylee said almost begging Caroline to eat. It was repeating again, déjà vu, the morning fight over porridge. Word for word the same fight every morning.

“Nope. Ain’t eatin’ it.” And the set of Caroline’s eyes and chin made Kaylee and Jayne both think of Mal when he set his mind on something.

“Mini-Mal” River added glancing between Kaylee and Jayne.

As a last ditch effort Kaylee used the threat that had been working for the last couple of weeks. Caroline’s fear of needles was greater then her hatred of porridge. “Ya don’t eat it, Simon’s going to poke ya with needles; like he does River. This has the stuff in it you need to be healthy, and I know how much you like being poked.”

Mal walked in with Simon; he’d had to literally drag the boy away from the cargo. Never seen someone so excited about some medical equipment. ‘Specially stuff he couldn’t keep. “Little one, you fightin’ with Kaylee again?”

Kaylee nodded yes, and Caroline glared at her when Mal couldn’t see her. “No, Sir. I’m eatin’” she responded mushing her spoon around in the grey gao se.

“Don’t look like it. I’ll give you a choice ‘bout breakfast.” Mal tried to keep his frustration levels down, it was really