Title: Almost Normal

Rating: PG -13

Synopsis: After Miranda, River is doing better and has returned to being the bratty sister she had been before she’d gone to the Academy.

Pairing: Simon/Kaylee

Timeframe: Takes place a few months after the movie, Serenity.

Disclaimer: This story is not meant to infringe on the copyright of any person or company related to the trademarked characters and situations depicted in the Serenity movie or Firefly series. I make no money from this. OnIy done for fun - and a desperate craving to have more stories told about this wonderful ‘verse Joss Whedon created.

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For the first time since the deaths of Book and Wash, the crew of Serenity sat in the common room, laughing and joking, telling stories of those they had left behind.

Even Zoe broke a smile as Mal, drunk though he may have been, told most of the stories of how Zoe had hated Wash from the moment he’d set foot on board. That he slurred his words and tried to act all indignant when he talked about how Wash and Zoe had been married without his permission, only made the telling more amusing to the rest of the crew.

Wash’s dinos lined the table, posed into different positions by an excited River who acted out some of their former owners more daring exploits. She was the only one not drinking. Overprotective big brother had put his foot down on her parade. She wasn’t of legal age yet. She wasn’t allowed to drink. But she’d gotten over her annoyance. She’d get Simon back – in her own amusing way.

Jayne guffawed and took another swig of – whatever it is they were drinking. He was far more intoxicated than anyone else but he didn’t care and neither did anyone else. It was good and there was a lot of it. He even laughed right along with everyone else, much to Simon’s clear annoyance, when the story of Canton was repeated for the benefit of those who had not been there to see the good doctor’s first fumbled attempts at living the life of a criminal. Lucky his pretty fits had ma