Fertility

[tamcranver]

Zoe dug her toes into the warm, crumbly soil and watched Kaylee and Simon throw water at each other, knee-deep in a creek that shone green with algae and yellowish spring sunlight.

Wash brushed her thigh lightly with one hand and moved the hand to rest on his stomach. She glanced at his sleeping face with fondness. He’d probably want to have a picnic later, he’d been chattering about it before they touched down. It’d been a long flight, though, and the sunlight and soft grass had proved too much for him. His shirt was absurdly bright against the washed-out grass.

“Do you mind if I sit with you?” a voice asked from behind her. Inara.

Zoe turned to look at the other woman. “Don’t mind at all.” She watched with quiet amusement as Inara sat down, smoothing her skirts over the dried grass. She seemed out of place in the field; too refined, too civilized. Her smooth face betrayed nothing, but Zoe suspected that she worried about getting dirt on the fine cloth of her dress. Once upon a time it might have irritated Zoe, but not much of anything bothered her at the moment.

Settled to her satisfaction, Inara gave Zoe a charming, desperate smile. She didn’t have to say How am I supposed to make contact with any sort of respectable clientele here? She and Zoe’d been traveling together long enough that Zoe could fill that in for herself. What she said was, “I see Kaylee and Simon have found a way to pass the time.” Her smile deepened with real pleasure.

Zoe looked on as Simon dumped a handful of water over Kaylee’s head. The girl’s shrieks and splashes were loud in the open space, and Wash frowned in his sleep and rolled over. Zoe patted his back, glad he was sleeping soundly. There were talks they needed to have, but they could wait. Peace was rare enough in their lives that Zoe didn’t feel like disturbing it when she had it.

Inara sighed. “There isn’t much here, is there?” Her eyes searched wistfully over the distance; probably for Mal.

“Come April, this place’ll be covered in flowers,” Zoe said, feeling the truth of it in her feet, burrowed in the dirt. She knew better than anyone how the earth that looked harsh and barren could sometimes yield the most beautiful flowers.

“How do you know that?” Inara asked, smiling quizzically.

Zoe smiled serenely, feeling the warmth of spring around and within her. “Just know.”

The earth held its secrets. Zoe could, too.