Part Four

Kaylee sat in the engine room, thinking. Why would Tala do something so nice for a person she barely knows? Why would she give up Simon, when she could have had him, and so clearly liked him? Why did Kaylee think that she herself deserved him?

She looked at the ceiling and sighed, listening to the thrumming of Serenity and letting the thoughts try to sort themselves out in her mind. She started to drift off, and she heard boots thumping down the corridor toward her. She nearly fell out of her hammock, she got up so fast. She probably wasn’t supposed to be sitting around doing nothing, but there was nothing for her to do right now. Serenity was pretty healthy right now. Maybe she wouldn’t have gotten into trouble. She wished she hadn’t left the warm hammock.

She wished it even more as Jayne walked in, a confuzed look on his face.

“Where’s th’ Cap’n?” He asked her. She sighed and shrugged.

“Dunno. Haven’t seen ‘em all mornin’. Why?”

“I, uh…wanna talk to ‘em.” She could tell he wasn’t going to tell her what about, so she crawled back into her hammock and he left her to her thoughts, thumping out into the corridor again, and down to the bunks.

“Preacher!” Shepherd Book looked up from his readings, a sleepy River beside him, muttering something about him telling her a story. He wondered if anything from his Bible was getting through to her. Maybe she never understood it before, but if, somehow, she had something to believe in, it would help her to feel better.

“Yes, Jayne?”

“Where’s th’ Cap’n?”

“I’m not sure. Where have you tried looking?” Shepherd Book could see River getting antsy in the chair next to him. She glared openly at Jayne.

“I as’t Kaylee ‘n’ you.”

“Is it important?”

“Uh…na.” Jayne looked cornered, but the Shepherd let it go. River spoke suddenly, something neither of the men had expected.

“He lies.” Jayne, immediately uncomfortable, ducked out of the room.

“How did you know that?” Book asked the girl, who looked as if nothing out