Disclaimer: All of Firefly belongs to Joss Whedon

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Kaylee could hardly contain herself as soon as she realized what job the captain had for, and that moment was as soon as they rounded the corner into the shopping district of Persephone. She had overheard talk of a fancy party from Wash and Zoe, and then she simply had to put two and two together. Of course she asked the captain to confirm, and all he said was ”Yes, now get yourself that fluffy layer cake.” Kaylee squeals and scampers into the store, immediately telling the clerk she wants the ruffly, pink dress. The clerk is surprised at first, but smiles at Kaylee’s energy. She’s all too happy to fit Kaylee into that dress anyway. She gingerly passes the rig to Kaylee, which Kaylee embraces with child-like happiness. The captain enters at that moment. “Now try not to rip it before we even get ya in it,” he says in mock grouchiness. “Xie Xie, Captain,” she says excitedly and runs for the dressing room. Once there it takes her a bit to figure out how to put the dress on; she’s never worn something so fancy in her life before, but she manages. She takes a moment to look at herself in the mirror. It’s the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen, and in that moment, she decides she will wear it on her wedding day. She can picture it ever so clearly. It’s on some homely world of some sort. Serenity’s just landed and the cargo bay door has extended down as to function as an “aisle” for the ceremony. Everyone has gotten so spruced up, even Jayne, though he has a cigar hanging out of the corner of his mouth. Wash is wearing a big bow tie, which looks odd in comparison to Zoe’s dress, maybe even the slinky dress she knows he bought her. And the captain, well he looks so out of place in those fancy clothes, but he’s smiling just like the rest of them. Inara is her maid of honor, wearing a matching pink dress of her own, though nothing to outshine the bride; it is her day after all. River gleefully takes on the role of flower girl. She doesn’t have real flower petals so she throws cut up bits of foil that once contained protein packs. An old rendition of the wedding march is playing over Serenity’s intercom; someone likely had to search on the cortex for hours looking for that old tune. The captain extends his arm to Kaylee as the tune begins, escorting her down the “aisle” to the groom. He whispers something funny to her as they walk and Kaylee laughs as she is “given away” to Simon. Oh, Simon. He looks even more swai than usual! His hair is slicked neatly to his head and he’s wearing the nicest of his tailored outfits, quite possible his last complete set from his core world days. Shepherd Book is right between them, his bible in hand. He has an ear-to-ear smile that in itself is a wedding present. He begins to read some scripture, but she would not remember a word he was saying; she is already lost in the groom’s eyes. She feels as if she’s falling closer to him, when she realizes she kind of is. It’s magical and beautiful all at once, and to top it off, Simon’s face is nearly inches from hers. There’s a sharp knock at the dressing room door. Kaylee’s lips are inches away from her reflection. She laughs at the funny face she didn’t even catch herself making. “Kaylee, you almost done in there? You realized we actually have to be at the party for the dress to be worth it, right?” “Comin’ , cap’n!” She thinks about what the captain had to say. He was wrong; even if they weren’t goin’ to some fancy shindig, the dress would be plenty worth it. She smiles at that thought, because wearing that dress, makes her fantasy seem a bit closer, more attainable. But that was enough musing. The Captain and her have a fancy party to go to, and she couldn’t wait to see what he was wearing.