Disclaimer: I tried to buy it off of Joss Whedon, but he wouldn't give, so it's still his, unfortunately. Aheh.

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The crew of Firefly class transport ship Serenity was gathered on the red earth surrounding two small grave markers which had been erected in memory of two members of their crew who had lost their lives in the battle for security and freedom.

God saw he was getting tired And a cure was not to be. So he put his arms around him And whispered, come with me.

With tearful eyes we watched him suffer And saw him fade away. Although we loved him dearly, We could not make him stay.

A golden heart stopped beating, Hard working hands to rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us He only takes the best.

Simon stared at the slowly scrolling verses that had been programmed into Shepherd Book's grave marker as an epitaph. The words were so appropriate for the preacher, someone with such a good heart, pure enough and with such outstanding moral values that he could have rightly been called God’s right-hand man. He sighed lightly and tightened his grip on Kaylee who stood at his side, her head hung, resting gently on Simon's shoulder.

They had all suffered the day that they had met with the army of reavers, but no one had sacrificed more than the two brave men who had lost their lives. Shepherd Book and Wash had helped in the fight to win the battle, but had been lost in the war. Now all that remained of the two men were small stone sculptures with silvery holograms that would shine in the darkness of the night like stars, a small tribute to the once living, breathing people that continued to live now and would continue to live forever on in every one of the crew members’ hearts.

Simon's gaze turned from the smiling face of the Shepherd, now flickering in place of the lettering he had only moments ago observed, to the verse that was scrolling along on the ex-pilot's grave marker. It was one simple verse that Zoe had selected to commemorate Wash. A few simple words that said more and meant more to the crew than a thousand words could ever express.

If tears could build a stairway And memories a lane I would walk right up to heaven And bring you home again.

Every member of the crew took the words to heart. Each of them would be willing to fight with everything they had to bring Wash home and would not hesitate a second given the chance.

Simon glanced up, hearing footsteps and rocks skittering beneath them as Zoe approached Wash’s grave. Her simple white funeral gown shivered in the breeze, a tribute to the leaf on the wind that was her husband. Tears threatened to choke the young doctor as he watched the first mate light the fuse on the small rocket replica that adorned the grave marker. He knew Wash would have wanted it that way; to be sent off in a way that paid appropriate tribute to everything he had loved in life, to the very things that had brought him so much joy and so much pain. To the very thing that had brought his end to him.

Looking around, Simon could see the tears in everyone’s eyes. Even Jayne and the captain were showing signs of what was obviously being felt by each and every person present. Simon had only known the pilot a short while in comparison to how long the rest of the crew had known him, but he loved the man like a member of his own family. Hell, they were as good as family.

Hearing a hissing, Simon looked up in time to see the toy rocket breaking away from the confines of the gravity that held them in place on the ground and making it's way up into the clouds where the Shepherd and Wash were surely resting, watching over all of them. The rocket disappeared from view and left behind only a white trail, a spirit of the once-tangible object.

With tears in their eyes and sorrow weighing on their hearts, the crew members turned, each walking with heavy footsteps back towards Serenity. The old girl stood silently a half mile in the distance, completely still, her doors open to admit the souls of their stray companions should they choose to travel on with the crew in whatever awaited them in the afterlife. It just wouldn't be the same without the Shepherd to keep them all grounded, to show them they had faith when there was no faith to be had. It wouldn't be the same without Wash's guidance, without him watching over the crew in his own way, keeping them in the sky another day.

As the crew entered the ship, hollow footsteps sounded, echoing through the otherwise silent cargo bay. The well-beaten mule sat at the side of the cargo bay, untouched since their crash-landing. Everyone had been afraid to approach the mule. That had been Wash's baby. It now sat as if protected by some unseen velvet rope, keeping everyone away, simply being a tribute. Everywhere they went there were tributes, reminding them all how lucky they had been to have known people so wonderful as the ones they now mourned for.

Narrowly escaping their own deaths and freeing the 'verse from the reavers had been a pyrrhic defeat. All of the freedom in the 'verse wasn't worth enjoying without the two brilliant men they had lost in the process of gaining the liberation.

Still, through whatever was to come the crew would live on, strengthened perhaps by what they had endured through their loss. Together they would live to their fullest, they would live out the dreams that Shepherd Derrial Book and Hoban Washburne would never again have the chance to strive towards enlivening.