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Inara is back on Serenity after three years. The crew took it hard when she decided to stay with Atheron. Mal barely spared her a second glance when she left. She only stayed in contact with Kaylee, but even those messages stopped coming after a while. She only has herself to blame for that; she was the one who stopped answering her messages.
Now she is back after playing a role for almost three years. She thought she was doing the right thing, but she was never happy, and when she caught him cheating on her with the newest maid, it gave her the resolve to finally leave him. He was blacklisted, and his reputation took a hit when it was revealed he deflowered another nobelman's daughter. She was a fool to think he could love her. Mal was right. She was just something to show off to him, a whore he owned.
She walks into the cargo bay, she ran into Zoe and Wash earlier, her welcome was not exactly warm. Zoe just stared at her and said nothing, while Wash made awkward chit-chat. She hears laughter, and when she looks to her left, she sees River sitting on a swing and Jayne pushing her. She approaches them, Jayne nods at her, and River looks at her with her head tilted. River jumps off the swing and lands gracefully on her feet.
Inara heard about Miranda and the cover-up. “You look good, River.”
The girl nods, “I am better. No more voices screaming in my head.” Jayne walks over to River and puts his arms around her, sending a signal of possession and protectiveness to Inara. Inara raises an eyebrow. This is a surprise to her. Last time, Jayne was ready to throw her and the doc off the ship. She sees their hands and notices the rings on their fingers. Kaylee never mentioned this, but Kaylee never told her anything about the crew since she never asked.
Jayne follows her gaze, “Riv and I got married bout two years ago. Fell in love with a crazy moonbrain. And she fell for me for some reason.”
River looks up at him, “I love you, you doofus. You have a big heart. You are her calm to her storm.” She stands up straighter, “Dawn is awake.” She runs off, Jayne smiles after her.
Inara looks at him questioningly, “Who is Dawn?”
He looks at her, “Our daughter.” He goes to follow his wife, leaving Inara shocked.
Kaylee finds her a few minutes later, “It is good to have you back. The others went into town to get stuff for tonight. We will celebrate the New Year on board the ship because of Dawn and Emma.”
Inara looks around, “Emma?”
Kaylee laughs, “Zoe and Wash’s daughter.” That’s why we’ve been taking more serious and low-risk jobs.” Inara nods. She has missed a lot. She wonders what else happened in her absence.
///
Inara hasn’t seen Mal since this morning when she came back on board. She needs to talk to him. While she was away, she realised that she was in love with Mal and she wanted them to try and be a couple. She can already foresee them arguing a lot, but most couples do. She imagines they would be passionate in bed. More often than not, when she was with Atherton, she imagined it was Mal above her. Mal inside her, Mal filling her up. She goes looking for them and runs into Simon, “Hello doctor, how are you?”
He smiles at her, “Better now that I am no longer a fugitive.”
She studies him, and he looks more confident and less burdened. “I thought you would have gone back to your old life.”
He snorts, “There was never going to be any going back. I can do more good out here in the verse. I can help out on small planets where no help would come otherwise. It is more fulfilling than being a doctor onAriel ever was. Plus, my father would never take us back again. He made that very clear when we went to get our stuff.”
She hums, “Plus River is still here.”
He laughs, “Yeah, she told me if I ever went back, I would have to take Jayne with us. Not that I ever considered going back when I have everything I want here on Serenity.” She wonders if he is talking about Kaylee. She knows Kaylee has had a crush on Simon. She never pried into Kaylee’s personal life, but she hopes these two figured things out.
He clears her throat, “So how does it feel to be back with us?”
She smiles, “Good, I missed this ship, and the people on it. I will have to get used to being in the black again.”
He looks at her, “Do you regret it? Staying with him?”
She is silent for a long while, “In a way, yes. I wasted years being an ornament. On the other hand, the time away gave me clarity. I wish I had left him sooner, though.”
///
It is five minutes to midnight, and Inara finally finds Mal. “Thank you for accepting me back.”
Mal shrugs, “Well, Kaylee missed ya. To be fai,r I thought you’d go back to your whore academy. Was surprised you wanted to travel with us again. Must be a step down from your luxurious life.”
She huffs, “Some things never change, you still have a foul mouth.”
He grunts, “You knew that already.” He turns towards her, “I told you so.” He knew she was making a mistake, never expected her to come crawling back, though.
She takes a deep breath, “Yes, you were right. I was only ever a pretty piece on his arm. And you were right, I never really fitted in.”
Mal smirks, “Can you repeat that? I right? That must have hurt ya.”
She smiles back, god she missed him. They were always like oil and water, but she is done ignoring her heart. She looks at her watch, one more minute. She plans to kiss him at midnight and hopefully more times after that. She turns to her left when she hears giggling. She sees Jayne and River make their way outside. She never expected them to be married.
Wash starts the countdown
10
9
8
7
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5
Inara turns towards Mal, but he’s gone. She sees him standing next to Simon.
4
3
2
1
The fireworks go off, Zoe kisses Wash, Jayne leans down to kiss his wife. Inara sees Mal and Simon kissing, and a tear runs down her cheek. Kaylee comes to stand next to her, not noticing her heart breaking. “Happy New Year, Nara.”
Inara swallows hard, “Happy New Year, Kaylee.” She looks up and sees them still kissing; she sees that Mal has his hands on Simon's butt.
Kaylee hands out some champagne, “To a new year and new adventures.”
Everyone raises their glasses. Mal clears his throat, “Speaking of new adventures, Simon and I have an announcement to make.” He pulls his husband closer, “We decided to expand our family and adopt. After being married for two years, we thought it was time.”
River beams at her brother, “Finally, you are making me an aunt.”
Simon rolls his eyes, “Yes, my goal in life was making you an aunt.”
Mal laughs and kisses Simon again, “I love you.” He kisses him again, "Too bad, I can't get you pregnant, or you me. Would love a kid that looked like us.
Simon chuckles, "Well, maybe if we keep trying, it will happen," he kisses Mal again, "I love you so much."
Mal gives him a wicked smile, "Well, Doctor Reynolds, we should go and try," kiss to his cheek, "Try," kiss to his other cheek, "and keep trying," another kiss to those lips he likes so much.
Inara excuses herself. She hurries into her shuttle and closes the door. She lies down on her bed and starts crying. Coming back was a mistake.