Disclaimer: The wonderful Firefly characters and the good ship Serenity all belong to Joss Whedon, or Mutant Enemy, or 20th Century Fox, or whoever actually owns them, and that person or entity is definitely not me. Written for amusement purposes only. No copyright infringement intended or implied.

Any original characters are mine, I suppose, unless any of the above-mentioned would like use of them. Fair is fair.

Rating: M, for rough language and strong sensual content. No minors, please.

Epilogue

"Hello?" Inara walked up the ramp, a bit miffed that there was no welcoming party for her, even though she was four hours earlier than expected. She used one hip to bump up the heavy toddler in her arms. "Anybody here?"

Mal poked his head around the corner of the common area, a surprised and relieved grin lighting his face.

"Hey! We were about to bring down the mule to come pick you up!" He came up the steps with alacrity. "Did you take a car?"

"Yes, I didn't want to wait…apparently, they miscalculated the original route, and the ETA was off by almost six hours. I tried to wave you, but the system was down at the station. The story of this trip…technological malfunctions. First the wave relay to Sihnon, then this… It was so hard not to be able to contact you! Kaylee didn't have the baby yet, did she?" Inara asked anxiously.

"No," he answered shortly, obviously not terribly interested in Kaylee at this moment.

"Oh, Mal -" Inara choked as she hurried forward, tears springing to her eyes. She was so very happy to see him!

He pulled Inara tightly against his side and kissed her hungrily and lengthily. This activity could have gone for some time if he had not been interrupted by a tiny hand tugging on his hair. Mal chuckled against Inara's mouth before he turned his head, a delighted smile on his face as the baby reached for him excitedly, crying "Da!" He lifted the child from Inara's arms.

"I was afraid you wouldn't even remember me. You've grown so big! I missed you so much, Sunshine!" He smooched the velvety soft skin just above the neck of the child's playsuit, rubbing his nose in the soft ebony curls. "And your mother." His voice lowered. "Never again, 'Nara. I shoulda let that job go and come with you. Near two months is too damn long to be away from either you or Sunny."

The baby squirmed and giggled manically. "Da!"

"Giana, please, Mal. It took her weeks to respond to her real name…" Inara corrected him with an amused sigh, resting her head against his shoulder, smiling contentedly at their daughter. "And you're right. It was much, much too long."

"Glad to be home?"

"Oh, yes…." She groaned. "I really wanted my grandmother to be able to meet her namesake, and she means well, but she gives overbearing a new definition…"

"Did she love my Sunny? She loved the baby, didn't she? Who wouldn't love this baby?" Mal buzzed into Giana's ear, setting off another round of giggles.

"Yes," Inara laughed. "She loved the baby."

"You look exhausted – let's get you upstairs. Where's all your stuff?" Mal asked curiously, looking around as he ushered Inara up the steps toward the crew quarters.

"At the bottom of the ramp. The hover-car driver wouldn't bring them any farther…do you think Jayne would mind carrying it all in?" she asked hopefully.

"Nah… s'easier than bringin' down the mule. Watch your step." Mal's grip tightened on her arm as she stumbled tiredly. And then a thought occurred to him, "Er, exactly how much did that hover-car ride cost, by the way?"

"Less than the premium docking fee you were so anxious to avoid!" Inara responded tartly, and they scowled at each other for a second before they both started laughing.

"We're flush right now," Mal admitted, adjusting the baby in his arm. "One hover-car ain't gonna break the bank."

"Have we had successful crime?" Inara inquired lightly.

"Profitable crime…I'll tell you about it later." Mal shrugged.

Inara looked around as they continued slowly up the stairs.

"It is wonderful to be home, back in familiar surroundings. It's good to know that some things never change," she smiled at Serenity with true affection.

Inara paused as she looked across and noticed the spare shuttle's door was closed and locked from the inside.

"Oh! I'd forgotten that you were thinking of renting it out…did you find someone?" she looked at Mal expectantly.

He paused, a strange smile hovering around his lips.

"Uh...sorta."

"Sorta?" Inara repeated, frowning.

"Well, thought I did, but it fell out the guy wasn't all that suitable...it was his sister, really, who finally put the kibosh on the whole scheme."

"Then who is 'sorta' renting it?" Inara was puzzled.

Just then the shuttle door opened with a clang, and River backed out, giggling, a sketch pad and a thick, dark pencil in one hand.

"You little brat!" Inara heard Jayne bellow.

"It's just grease pencil…I couldn't resist…it will come off with soap and water…" River gave a playful shriek as an irate Jayne followed her out. Inara saw that River must have caught Jayne napping in the shuttle, as he had been known to do. The little minx had drawn bold black eyelashes around his eyes, and little flowers and stars all over his forehead and cheeks. Giana was staring, wide-eyed, at the spectacle.

"You better be right about that – now go get me a rag or somethin' –" Jayne stalked after River's retreating form threateningly. The two of them were so invested in their spat that they didn't even notice the Reynolds family watching them from the landing.

In seconds, Jayne had River backed up against the bulkhead.

"You think you're funny," he growled.

"No, I think you're funny," River mocked, laughter quivering in her voice.

"As I said, some things never change," Inara whispered ruefully, giving a low chuckle as she shared an amused glance with Mal.

Mal opened his mouth, considered, and then closed it again. He'd been witness to enough incidents like this over the past seven days to have a pretty fair idea where this was going to end up. Seeing Inara's reaction was going to be priceless.

"Funny, huh?" Jayne smeared his hand over his face and then swiped his fingers across River's cheek, leaving a dark slashy mark against her pale skin. "How do you like it?" he demanded.

River's lashes lowered with a sudden, seductive gleam. "You know how I like it."

Inara blinked, not sure she'd heard the breathless words correctly. She was stunned even further when Jayne gave a rumbling laugh of agreement and curved his hands around River's waist. River's arm looped around the back of his neck as she pulled his head down for a deep and thorough kiss, which he not only allowed, but appeared to reciprocate enthusiastically.

Inara's jaw dropped, and for a few seconds she could only think of Simon's catch phrase: this must be what going mad is like. She goggled at Mal, who was enjoying the moment tremendously.

"That - that's different!" Inara made a feeble gesture toward the passionately embracing couple.

"That's one word for it," Mal grinned. "Simon has others."

Author's Notes:

The end, for real, lol.

Still sending thanks to leslina for encouragement and beta-ing – all these years later, I hope you are well.

Thanks to Sooty85 for "Twelve years too late to this fandom," rekindling my interest in posting this during these strange times.

Thanks to all for reading and reviewing! Gem