Zoe sat down heavily in the pilot’s seat of Serenity after climbing up the ladder to the cockpit. She drew a hand through her hair, disheveling it, and let her eyes wander around the room. The rusted metal, the cracked video screen on the com device, the buttons on the control panel that were so worn you couldn’t even see the letters around them, the three switches that didn’t seem to serve any real significant purpose except to look nifty. There were so many memories on this boat; good, bad, and horrific. Granted, the bad ones Zoe generally tried to ignore; it don’t do you no good to dwell on things already past. Mal had taught her that after the war. Usually it was true, but sometimes, when there was nothing left to hold you up but those memories, they were the only things kept you alive. Zoe’s gaze drifted to the window, where the stars lay peacefully. They were coming up on Sihnon. They weren’t stopping; no deal to be made there at the moment, and Inara wasn’t keen on stopping by.

Wash’s jacket was resting on the famous swivel chair, the soft, aged leather brushing against Zoe’s elbow, reminding her somewhat of Wash’s touch, like a gentle breeze in the eye of a dust storm. The fabric near to the color of her own ebony skin, it was rich in texture and smelled strongly of Wash. Just Wash; the scent of peppermint (that candy he liked so much), and a faint odor of engine grease. Wash. Washburn Warren. Her Wash. She pulled the jacket over her shoulders, covering herself with it as she pulled her feet up onto the chair and hugged her knees to her chest. Zoe felt oddly vulnerable tonight, and it was not a feeling she welcomed readily. At times like these, Wash was the only one who could cure her little episodes. However, she didn’t really want to bug him right now. He was probably still in the mess, making shadow puppets with his hands and telling old stories about Earth-that-was using his dinosaurs. Those were the really old stories. Zoe smiled, reminiscing on the good ‘ole days. Well, less dangerous, leastways.

-----------------------

There was a man, lying on his back, under the control panel of the cockpit.

“Yeah. This is all very do-able,” the man said calmly, rising to a sitting position after sliding back. He had slicked-back red hair with a matching moustache. And a Hawaiian shirt. ‘Who wears Hawaiian shirts anymore?’ Zoe thought to herself. So this was the infamous Wash. Known only by his first name, apparently. Zoe tried to bite back a smirk when she saw his getup, and so settle for merely quirking an eyebrow at him as she leaned against the wall.

“Shouldn’t be a problem at all.” Wash looked over the vessel appraisingly. “A few modifications, get some real maneuverability out of this boat. You’d be surprised.”

“So you’ll take the job, then?” Asked Mal. Zoe silently prayed that he wouldn’t.

Wash plopped down into the pilot’s chair, spinning it around a couple of times experimentally. Zoe crossed her arms disapprovingly. If he took this job just for that gorram chair… “Might do, might do,” he replied, looking Zoe over appraisingly. “think I’m startin’ to get a feel here.” Zoe withheld a groan with great difficulty.

Mal smiled. “Good. Well, take your time. Make yourself at home. Just, uh…fiddle with the dials, there. We’ll be nearby.” Was proceeded to do as the captain had asked, a slight grin on his face. Mal and Zoe walked out of the cockpit, and headed down the stairs to the mess.

Mal talked to her quietly as they made their way through the antediluvian ship. “He’s great, ain’t he?”

“I don’t like him.”

Mal gave her a look of pure shock and horror. “What?” How in all the ‘verse could she not like him? He was brilliant, they beat the Alliance to him, he was brilliant…

Zoe remained stoic. “Something about him bothers me.” She didn’t want to dig too deeply into what that something could possibly be. Nope, not a good idea.

“What?” Pressed Mal. “What about him bothers you?”

“I’m not sure. It’s just…” Zoe trailed off for a moment. “Something.” She glanced over at the captain.

“Well, your ‘something’ comes up against a list of recommendations long as my leg.” He wasn’t going to let Zoe change his mind; not this time. “Tanaka raved about the guy. Renshaw’s been trying to get him on his crew for a month. And we need us a pilot.” There was a pregnant pause, in which Mal held his breath in anticipation of Zoe’s answer.

“I understand, sir.” Mal relaxed. “He bothers me.” Not so relaxed now. Mal exhaled through his nose, determined not to lose his temper.

“Look, we finally got ourselves a genius mechanic. It’s about time we hired someone to fly the damn thing.”

Bester, their blond, rather oddly-dressed mechanic, walked by and gave the two a flaky smile. “’Genius.’ No one’s ever called me that before.” Bester nodded, proud of being paid such a compliment by his captain. Especially when so many people (including his dear parents) had repeatedly called him a good-for-nothing irresponsible dim-witted hun dan. “Shiny.” He headed off to the engine room, a little spring in his step. Of course, that little spring could’ve been caused by something else entirely, something neither Mal nor Zoe particularly wanted to think about.

Zoe ignored Bester, as had become the norm lately, and continued her previous train of thought, which lay on Serenity’s potential new pilot. She turned towards Mal, shrugged helplessly, and remarked, “Just bothers me.”

-----------------------------------------

Zoe stomped up the rungs of the ladder to the cockpit, not exactly caring when it echoed throughout the ship loud enough to scare the cargo into creating a stampede. Of course, how damaging could a stampede of tiny beagles actually be? Precisely.

“Could you tell me what you meant by interrupting our meeting with your pointless information on how Snow Globes are made?”

Was looked up from his dinosaurs, a pained expression on his face. “It’s not pointless. Snow Globes are a crucial part of our society. You simply seemed unlearned on the subject.” He gave her a pitying look, which didn’t help Zoe’s temper.

“Be that as it may,” replied Zoe coolly, “you happened to barge in on an important discussion between me and the captain ‘bout a deal we got with a woman named Patience.”

“And what is this deal, exactly? What do I get out of it, and where are we headed? I need all the details, you know.” He wiggled his eyebrows and started to turn back to the controls.

“Get up.”

Wash stopped mid-swivel.

“I beg your unforgivable pardon?”

“You heard me.” Replied Zoe. When he didn’t move immediately, she crossed her arms and glared at him. Wash stood up, rolling his eyes at her demeanor when he thought she couldn’t see. She forcibly turned him around so he was facing away from her.

“And don’t do that.” She said sternly.

Guess she could see.

Zoe started patting him down, searching for any hidden objects or weapons Wash might be concealing. She didn’t trust this one.

“Oh, yeah!” Said Wash with half-feigned enthusiasm. “This is more like it. A little bit lower now…You know, I really wasn’t expecting a full-body massage, but this is really quite nice. Ooh, yes. Right there, that’s great.” Zoe quickly moved her hands off his rear and moved down to his shoes. Nope, he was clean.

“Aww, done so soon?” He whined as he pulled Zoe close to him. “You know, we could be really good together,” he whispered in her ear, “what with the groping and not-so-inconspicuous lustful stares. I wonder what the captain would think of our little frolic in the leaves.” Zoe pushed him away, and moved towards the door.

“There was no frolic, and anyway, no leaves to do it in. I’ve got work to do.”

“We don’t need leaves if you don’t want them!” Called Wash. Zoe shook her head and climbed down the ladder.

-------------------------------------------

“Why, Zoe!” Mal motioned for her to sit at the table in the mess, which smelled like over-cooked protein soup and bananas. Zoe did so. “I didn’t know you planned on havin’ a date with our dear pilot of Serenity Seems he wants your relationship to go beyond mere groping in your bedrooms.”

“Sir?”

“He came in this mornin’, askin’ if we could stop off on Persephone. Just for a few days, mind you. Said he had some business to take care of, and he wanted you to come along. You plannin’ on telling me this anytime soon, Zoe?”

“No, sir.” Zoe had a vaguely puzzled look on her face. One that was, in fact, quite amusing. Mal smiled slightly as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest.

“Care to tell me why?” Mal inquired.

“Well, I can’t rightly say I knew about his plans for an escapade.”

Mal leaned forward. “Zoe, I ain’t convinced it’s such a good idea.”

“Neither am I, but what could go wrong? We don’t have any illegal work planned on Persephone, so the feds won’t have reason to suspect us, hopefully.”

“Still, it ain’t safe.”

“Sir, Wash hasn’t been planetside for nearing three months. Don’t you think-”

“Fine.” Mal cut her off. “Just remember what I said to you about shipboard romances.”

“Shipboard romances, sir?” She repeated, quirking an eyebrow at him. “I doubt that’ll happen.”

“From what I’m hearin’ outta Kaylee’s mouth, seems like you two ain’t as distant as you try to appear.”

--------------------------------

“Contrary to popular belief, we don’t get many of the wealthier folk out here. Mainly messengers, servants and the like.” Richard Seah took Inara’s hand in his, and kissed it gently. Inara smiled graciously. “It’s so nice to meet someone of your stature. It’ll probably be good for sales, too.” He winked at her conspiratorially.

“Oh, I don’t know if I’ll be a regular here,” she laughed. “The people I travel with aren’t always looked kindly upon by the Alliance.”

“Ah, yes. The ever-present Alliance threat that despises the perfectly legitimate trade of goods between two honest groups of people.” Richard shook his head, and light brown curls, touched with gold from long days in the sun, bounced cheerfully. “So who are your friends?”

Inara stepped back, so as to show off her in partners in (this time) legal crime.

“This is Wash, our pilot, and Zoe, the first mate on Serenity. They’re also two of my dearest friends.” She put an arm about Zoe’s shoulders. Zoe nodded, and Wash gave a little half-wave.

Richard leaned forward, and grasped each of their hands - energetically - in turn. “Great to meet you. Are you two…” he trailed off, looking curiously at each of them. Zoe automatically took as step away from Wash, knowing what was coming, as he took two more towards her and placed an arm around her waist.

“Oh, no, we’re not-”

“Of course! Don’t we make the cutest couple?”

Richard laughed at the contrasts their faces made: on Wash’s face was an expression of earnestness, while Zoe’s effectively portrayed dangerous annoyance.

“I see,” he said, nodding knowingly. Zoe hit Wash reprimanding on the shoulder, and he drew back, rubbing his arm. “Well, why don’t you all come inside? It’s a little warm out here in the sun.” Richard let them pass into a small dining area in his welcoming home. He left them for a moment, in which they sat in uncomfortable silence on mismatched chairs. He returned soon enough, with a tray that held four glasses of pink lemonade. After setting the tray in the middle of the table, Richard took a glass for himself and sat down.

Wash took a sip of his drink, and grinned. “Now, this doesn’t taste like any regular lemonade. What’s in it?”

“It’s an old family recipe. My mother used to make it all the time before she died. Fresh-squeezed lemonade, mixed with strawberries and a dash of vodka.”

“Mmm…strawberries. Don’t you like strawberries, Zoe?” Wash waved his glass under her nose. She didn’t touch her drink.

“That’s actually why we’re here, Richard,” interrupted Inara. “Our mechanic, Kaylee, loves strawberries. Almost too much. Anyway, it’s her birthday today, and we were wondering-”

“Absolutely! I’d love to help out with a birthday surprise. And you can never have too many strawberries. I imagine Kaylee would enjoy a day runnin’ free in a fresh field of strawberries?” Richard ran his finger along the rim of his glass, and it made a pleasant ringing sound. Wash immediately took this opportunity to do the same. He held the object close to his ear as the ringing changed pitch with every sip he took.

“We have to get us some of these,” he whispered to Zoe. Zoe’s eyes hit the ceiling for the fifth time that day.

“They’re made of crystal,” she replied, and Wash fell silent, pouting a little.

“I’m sure Kaylee will be thrilled. Now, Wash, Zoe…” Inara gestured in the general direction of the doorway. “If you wouldn’t mind fetching Kaylee, Richard an I have some work to do.”

“Naturelement,” replied Wash, bowing with an extravagant flair. He led Zoe out of the house, overhearing the last bits of the conversation indoors.

“I’m afraid I don’t have much money to pay with. I tried to explain before-”

“Monetary payment won’t be necessary. Seeing our dear girl happy is often more than enough. Someone on Serenity should have a real birthday present for once. They don’t have much out there, you know.”

“I’d imagine not.”

Wash and Zoe walked in silence for a while, enjoying the clean air as they meandered their way back to Serenity. Zoe’s eyes wandered to graze over Wash’s face while he seemed to take interest in a long patch of wildflowers. Sure, he was pretty irritating at times…all right, a lot of times, but he wasn’t exactly unattractive. Wash was rather charming, actually. In a goofy, immature sort of way. He reminded her of a schoolboy, someone without regrets yet. He reminded her of the child she was never able to be. Zoe grew up on a lonely planet, full of pollution, factories, and less-important Alliance officials. She was raised by her dad; her mother had died just after she was born, in a sudden and violent attack when the Alliance supporters found out the family was independent. Maybe that’s why she constantly found herself standing outside his room, night after night, afraid to knock but afraid to leave, just standing there until he opened the door of his own accord, sitting down and talking with her about trivial things, like how did Kaylee’s soup taste today. Maybe that’s why she found herself attracted to him. He wasn’t afraid to be the young and carefree one, even when it might not be entirely appropriate.

“What?” Asked Wash, giving Zoe an odd look. “What is it? Do I have something on my epidermis or something?”

“Yeah,” replied Zoe, as a sudden, indefinable urge to do something swept through her, “let me get it off for you.” Zoe took Wash’s face in her hands and kissed him lightly on the mouth. This took Wash completely by surprise, and his mouth fell open slightly. Then he came to his senses and returned the kiss, taking her in his arms. Zoe slid her tongue out to trace his lips gently, tentatively, wrapping her arms around his neck, which was warm from the hot summer sun. It was probably pink too, what with his red hair and all. Zoe chuckled inwardly, something she almost never did. Wash’s tongue snuck out to capture hers in his, then poked around curiously through her mouth. Zoe sighed happily; it had been years since she’d been able to do this with someone. She broke the kiss reluctantly, but made a promise to continue when they were more…alone.

“We should get back to the ship, and get Kaylee,” Zoe whispered in his ear. “They’ll get worried we got eaten by a mad cow or something.”

Wash traced her face with his fingers. “A mad cow with a beard and a tendency to shoot at things without thinking about it?” Zoe swatted him on the head, and started walking the rest of the way to the ship.

“Kaylee!” Called Zoe, poking her head in the engine room. She caught sight of a pair of legs sticking out from under the engine, and pinched one of Kaylee’s toes with her finger. “We have a present for you, sweetie.”

Kaylee slid out from under the machine, and gave Zoe a cheerful smile. “Thanks, Zoe. But you don’t have to get me somethin’ just ‘cause it’s my birthday. I ain’t that important.”

“We wanted to.” Zoe gave her a quick hug, then, led the way to the front of the ship. “Besides, I think you’ll really like it.”

So they spent the day frolicking in a field of strawberries, Kaylee happy as a clam, the captain happy to see her so happy, and Wash and Zoe having their own fun in the far end of the field. Zoe never mentioned her birthday was the next day, but she considered this day to be a perfect gift. It was nice to act like a child again; it was a cathartic release, kissing Wash. She could get used to it.

-------------------------------------------

“Absolutely not.”

“But Zoe, this is going to be one of the biggest events of your life. You can’t just-”

“Yes, I can. I refuse to wear a dress.”

“Well, someone has to wear it. Would you rather Wash wear it?”

Zoe snorted. “Actually, yeah. I would rather he wear it. I won’t touch it.”

“Will you just look at it, at least?” Inara sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought it would be.

“We don’t even got gorram wedding rings. Why should I…” Zoe turned around, and her voice trailed off. “Oh. That…that don’t look like any wedding dress I’ve ever seen.”

The dress Inara was holding up impatiently was her mother’s old dress; she wore it to Christmas parties and such. It was a tan silk with a flowered pattern interspersed with Chinese characters. Zoe walked up to Inara, and took the dress in her hands. She held it up to herself in the mirror, and smoothed it down. The neck was low, lower than Zoe usually wore, but not horribly risqué. There were no shoulders to the dress, and it had no straps. Luckily, there was no traditional fluffy skirt; it was just plain and straight. Zoe hated fluff. This one…this one was a little more her than she thought it would be. Maybe it wasn’t so bad living around a Companion.

“Thanks, Inara.”

After hurriedly having Inara help her with her makeup, Zoe went out the front entrance of the ship, into the green pasture she and Wash had picked out for the ceremony. It was a small wedding, with Kaylee grinning broadly in the front row, Mal standing by the altar, looking perturbed, and Inara standing on the other side of Mal, looking content. The best part, that Zoe could remember, was her father, walking her down the aisle. Zoe and Wash couldn’t afford wedding rings, so when it came time for the giving of the rings, Wash tied a sturdy leather rope about Zoe’s neck to symbolize their connection.

“Hoban Washburn, do you take this woman…”

It was a good start.

Wait…his name was Hoban?

----------------------------------------

“Zoe, honey, are you in here?” Wash appeared and interrupted Zoe’s reverie. She looked up and him, trying not to laugh at his getup. He was dressed like a reindeer. He took off the antlers and crouched next to her. “Something wrong?”

“Nothing much.” Lied Zoe. Everything was bothering her tonight. “How’s Kaylee?”

Wash sighed. They were all worried about Kaylee, ever since…well. “She and River are playing jacks in the mess. She seems better, but…” he shook his head, “she said she still gets nightmares. About what…could’ve happened. More’n once she’s come up to the cockpit in the wee hours of the morning, just wanting company. Simon says she’s good enough she’s off the meds, but she still can’t sleep at night sometimes.”

Zoe just nodded. Wash took her hand and held it in his for a while, then pulled her up out of the chair. “You need to have some fun,” he said, catching her lips in a kiss. “Wanna see what the rest of the crew are up to?”

She let him bring her into the mess, where she was glad to see everyone smiling, all in the Christmas spirit. Even Mal, who was having the time of his life irritating Inara to his fullest extent. Inara looked annoyed, but was smiling slightly. She gave Zoe a hug when she entered the room.

As Wash started dancing around the room with Zoe, careful not to knock over the chocolate sauce and strawberries on the stove, Zoe saw Simon and Kaylee under the mistletoe. Simon seemed very confused, and Kaylee was thrilled. After about five minutes of both of them just standing there, Simon finally leaned forward and placed his hands carefully on Kaylee’s waist. Kaylee seemed to melt with happiness, and everyone was a little more cheerful after that.

“Merry Christmas, wife,” hollered Wash from the other side of the room, two hours and six vodkas later.

“Merry, Christmas, husband,” Zoe called back, just as drunk. She caught herself on the table before she collapsed, laughing.

“They brought back Christmas,” said River, walking by Jayne, opening a gift from his mother. Jayne just smiled, and pulled her into a hug. “They’ll be happy once you push her off the edge.”