"Have you ever heard of Serenity?" Tanaka asks me.

"Sure, state of calm or something."

"No, you idiot, it's a ship."

"Okay, then. No. I haven’t heard of it." This is how our banter goes.

"Firefly class." He says. My eyes light up. "True?"

"Yup. I know the Captain and mate. Lookin' for a pilot y'know."

"That why ya brought it up?" I try to hide my eagerness, my compulsive grin.

"Yeah, thought you might be interested. You been waitin' for something."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, gee, maybe the fact that you won't take any jobs recently."

"Haven't found one I like. Renshaw's an idiot." Like I have room to talk, but it's true. Everyone seems to think he's got it down, but I beg to differ. Actually, I think he's the one been begging. Maybe that's why I've stayed aloof. It's a shame to be wanted.

Tanaka skips Renshaw, we've been through this. "Alliance cruiser doesn’t do it for ya?" His eyes dance a bit, as only Tanaka's can.

"Do what for me?" I hedge for the fun of it. Straight answers are seldom fun.

"Yer a little shit, y'know that?" He sees through me, as usual.

I grin. "Sure. But no, I bear no love for the Alliance."

"Not even for the coin?" He obviously isn’t much of a Browncoat anymore.

"Not even for that."

"Good then. Thought I might have to beat ya." Maybe he is still a Browncoat. It's hard to eradicate.

"So this Firefly, Serendipity," I really do know the name, "Hardy boat?"

He doesn’t correct me. "Seems so. Mal, that's the Captain, doesn’t know much about ships, but he's got a good mechanic and he's got the brains to run her."

"Who, the Captain or the mechanic?"

"Well, I'm not sure as the mechanic has much brains at all, though he seems to have been able to get the ship running."

I nod, appearing deep in thought. In reality I'm daydreaming about flying this little ship. I can imagine her fine lines, her oh-so-maneuverable engines.

"So, wanna check it out?" Tanaka brings me back to the now.

"Yeah, I'll give it a go. Where's she docked?"

****

I approach the ship in awe. She really is beautiful. So few people realize that Fireflys are so dang pretty. I fall in love, just like that.

I can tell the Captain's in love too. It's in his eyes. He's waiting for me at the bottom of the extended ramp.

"Hiya." I say.

"You Wash?" He looks me up and down, stripping me to the bone.

"Yeah, that's me."

He extends his hand and I take it. Dang, his grip is strong. I try not to wince.

"I'm Malcolm Reynolds." He says.

Then he shows me all around the ship before allowing me to see the bridge. This is how I know he's in love. Just the way he gazes and the way he talks. I can't help but gaze too. She's just that beautiful.

About the time we reach the bridge, his gorgeous first mate appears. Tanaka hadn’t said anything about the mate being a woman. And definitely nothing about her being this woman. I try to look at the instruments instead of ogling at her. Seems I should have worn a different shirt. This one's a bit loud. Aw, hell, all my shirts are loud. But she's eyeing me funny. Seems she can see through me. Even more intense then that look-over the Captain gave me. I crawl under the panel to get out of her direct line of sight. I pretend I'm looking at stuff. I'm really not. But then again I am. This ship is so great.

I slide back out. "Yeah, this is all very doable. Shouldn’t be a problem at all." I say, "A few modifications, you can get some real maneuverability out of this boat. You'd be surprised." I know full well that she can maneuver fine. But I have to say something, something that sounds intelligent. I sink into the pilot's chair while I'm saying this. It's a moment of utter bliss. Seriously, I don't think I've ever sat in a better chair.

I don't care when Mal says some things. I don't even really care when I answer back. I do kinda care when Zoe looks disapproving and walks out. Mal follows her, telling me to fiddle. For the first time in my life I'm not so sure I want to fiddle. But my instinct takes over and I fiddle by habit. This boat can do anything. It's amazing.

"Serenity: the state of being calm." I recite from who-knows-where to who-knows-who. Empty air I guess. But it's right. It fits.