Previously, the Kanakaredes home, Fairport, New York...

“You have nothing…nothing to be ashamed of. My aunt would not want you to feel sorry for her, but if her death is to have any meaning outside of that place? It’s that you would understand that there’s nothing wrong with you. Mommy and Daddy will help you talk to your parents, Caleb, but you have to believe you’re okay.”

“Well? Okay.”

Early evening at the Kanakaredes home...Sia's bedroom...

Nandi, darling.

And you look exactly the same as the day I left. How do you do that out here?

Sheer force of will.

"Caleb? Sia? We're going to leave to take you home, sweetie. Are you ready to go?" Olympia called. The two made their way up the hallway and into the kitchen.

“Well…maybe we should dress up, just in case,” Sia said as she stared at Cal…Callie? Even in accepting this part of her friend, she found it odd to see him as a her; maybe because she was even more enamored with the boy than her sisters. Was she suffering from puppy love? She went to stand up from the dining room table and her father put his hand up in a cautious but calm gesture.

“No, Sia. I know it’s going to be hard for your friend here,” he said, almost giving the impression that he was speaking as if the boy wasn’t even there. He followed it up with a friendly pat on Caleb’s arm.

“The only way things work in a family…ours and his…is if we are honest and open and completely transparent.” Sia looked at him askance.

“But Dad…what if his parents…” She paused and looked at Caleb before returning to her father.

“If his parents don’t accept that he….that he…” She almost stammered.

“It’s okay, Sia….” The boy smiled.

“’He’ is okay for now….I’m just figuring it out myself.”

“I know this will be hard,” Olympia said as she sat back down at the table, kissing Sia on the top of the head before settling in,

“But being straightforward? It’s the only way to go. .” She turned toward the boy.

“She loves you. And I don’t think your mom could have found a nicer guy than Jason, from what you've told us.” At that, Caleb put his head down.

“What’s wrong?” Olympia knew fairly well what was ‘wrong,’ but the boy needed an opportunity to talk about it; likely having no one to tell.

“What if….he can’t accept me? Mom loves him.” He didn’t go further, but his tone and the words already inferred what his fears had become.

“I think there’s room in your mom’s life for both of you, child.” Spiros said softly; almost as if he was speaking to one of his daughters.

“And we’ll be there when you tell them. All the way…holding your hand.”

Sia put her hand on Cal’s arm, causing him to flinch. Too many promises for such a daunting task and no hope in his heart kept him at least for the moment from feeling strong. The need for friends and the need for his family to understand overwhelmed him; Sia’s family’s generosity and love proved to be too much to take in, and his own family’s likely rejection probed to be too much to withstand, and he burst into tears, turning to Olympia and sobbing into her arm.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said as she held the weeping child. “I promise.”

Her last words caused the boy to literally convulse in her arms. She looked at her husband and he smiled even as he shook his head at the boy’s sadness. He mouthed some words that gave Olympia enough courage to have the same courage for the boy’s sake.

“S’ agapo! Tha eá­nai entá¡xe…” He actually blew her a kiss which she pretended to catch in her hand. He nodded and used his eyes to direct her to the boy and she then nodded back, kissing the boy’s cheek while saying the same thing to Caleb.

“Shhhh….Tha eá­nai entá¡xe…It’s going to be okay…”

The Jensen home, a short while later...

“Mom? You remember Sia’s mom?” Caleb nearly whispered as he walked into the house. Jason put down his paper and stood up, walking quickly to the front door.

“Hi. I recall meeting you at a block party last year. Name’s Jason; you’ve already met Lois,” he said as he used his hand in a broad gesture. Lois waved almost like a surprised child before wiping her hands with the dishtowel.

“I thought you and Sia were going to the convention. Hi…Olympia, right?” She held out her hand and Olympia shook it gently.

“Yes, and this is my husband Spiros. Sia says all the time how you make her feel so welcome.” Lois blushed a bit and Jason nodded slightly, his face almost expressionless.

“The kids decided to skip tonight; Caleb had dinner with us.”

“You didn’t have to go to the trouble of bringing him home. I would have been happy to pick him up.” Jason said as he seemed to stare at Caleb; almost blaming him for their inconvenience.

“Oh…no trouble. As a matter of fact, we wanted to drop by to talk with you folks if that’s okay?” Spiros said from the doorway.

“Sia and Caleb had a talk with us tonight at dinner and we figured you’d like to know what we discussed.” Olympia said it in such a way as to diffuse any worry over the topic; like an upcoming party or school event instead of a major discussion.

“That sounds fine; I just put on some coffee. Why don’t you folks have a seat?” Lois pointed to the living room. Jason waited until Spiros and Olympia had sat before sitting down himself; grabbing the wooden rocker from the corner. He leaned forward, almost anticipating some news. A moment later Lois had returned with a tray filled with coffee mugs and a carafe and creamer.

“What did you want to talk about?” Lois asked almost gingerly. Jason half-frowned in expectation; whatever the kids wanted to talk about wasn’t something casual. He looked over at Caleb and the boy put his head down almost reflexively.

“Caleb told us something about himself that he’s having a hard time facing. Sia thought we might be of help.” Lois cringed ever so slightly; whatever needed help had to be serious. Jason smiled to himself before he spoke; surprising everyone.

“Whatever it is that needs to be said? I’m sorry.” It almost seemed as if he was about to cut short the whole conversation, but he continued.

“It hasn’t been easy at all for Caleb since his dad died. I’ve tried to be there for him, but it’s just not the same. I’m so sorry I haven’t done enough to earn your trust, but I understand.” He smiled with an almost gentle look on his face. Lois stared at him and shook her head.

“Oh, no, honey…you’ve done a great job.” She said it as a way of acknowledging his efforts but he shook his head as well; continuing to feel the need for help.

“That’s just it, honey. I treated being his father like a job.” He paused and looked away. Not normally an emotionally demonstrative person, he nevertheless felt deeply and with great passion about his family. He bit his tongue and continued.

“Caleb. I want you to know that whatever you need to tell us, you can’t say a single thing that will change the love I have for you, okay? I’m sorry it came to you having to need help to tell us…to tell me. I am so sorry.” He stood up and walked quickly to front door. Stepping out onto the porch he turned to everyone.

“I…I need a couple of minutes, alright?” He closed the door behind him. Lois went to stand up and Olympia put her hand out.’

“I think very much that your husband will be okay. He is a very brave man to admit he was wrong. I think what he just did will help Caleb more than anything we could do or say.”

A short while later...

I learned something... When you live with that kind of strength, you get tied to it. You can’t break away, and you never want to. There’s something, there’s something I should have done a long while ago. And I’m sorry for both of us that it took me this long. I’m leaving.

“Jason?” He turned to find his step-son standing on the porch.

“What’s up, Caleb?” He rubbed the tears from his eyes with his sleeve; more to help see than out of embarrassment. The boy walked over and sat on the porch swing across from Jason, who leaned on the railing.

“I’ve got something I have to tell you and Mom, and I’m….I’m scared.” He put his head down; almost ashamed that he was afraid of the man who had chosen to adopt him. The man who had made a supreme effort to love him and his mother.

“I know, and I’m sorry for that. Please forgive me.” At the words Caleb lifted his head and spoke; trying to speak without crying would prove to be difficult, but not impossible. He took a breath.

“I’m not scared of you….I just ….I’m just scared. I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m scared….” He stammered and put his head down again. He heard the porch boards creak, and he looked up to see Jason standing before him. The man sat down next to him and grabbed his hands; not only uncharacteristic, but almost odd between a father and son. Between a father and son….

“I think I know.” He looked the boy over, almost as if he was examining him for flaws, from where Caleb sat, but he noticed the frustrated nervous look on the boy’s face. His own expression softened; a welcome smile spread across his face and he squeezed the boy’s hands.

“When you were little…not too long after your dad died and I had started to come to your church? I saw something. There was a moment when you and one of the Dooley kids were playing in the back in the playground. I was standing outside….it was before I quit smoking, and I was out back. The girl came up to the two of you and pulled a stuffed animal of some sort out of her backpack. The other girl almost shrugged her shoulders. I’d never seen a little kid look so bored. But your eyes lit up and you got so excited.” He shook his head, almost looking afraid that he was wrong in what he was about to say.

“I don’t …I don’t remember.” Caleb was apologetic, as if he was failing for not being able to recall such a brief and seemingly unimportant moment in time. He went to turn away, but the gentle squeeze of his hands kept his attention; albeit almost reluctantly.

“Listen, okay? I don’t know if I’m being a real idiot here, but I thought I saw something….something with you.” Caleb felt his cheeks grow red; whatever his stepfather remembered had to be bad. What if it was what he had feared would be discovered? What if it was time to face facts about himself and just how much Jason would resent. His fear darkened his already red face, causing Jason to speak; a soft reminder of just how wrong Caleb was about the man who held his hands.

“You were different, Caleb. Much more different than any father could have expected; birth or otherwise. But I knew it wasn’t wrong.” He blinked back some tears as he had begun to cry once again. He was so in love with his family, and he desperately hoped what he said next would not only say but prove that to his son…..his child….HIS child….

“You’re not the boy I thought you were….I think I’ve known for some time, but I just didn’t know what to say or do. So I’ve been reading…just in case.” The boy tilted his head slightly; his own tears nearly matching those of his step-father, but for entirely differently reasons. Once again, Jason took note of the change in the boy’s expression and one last time spoke to him in an effort to alleviate both of their fears once and for all.

“I married your mother for better or worse…..but in a way, I married you, since you were here long before I showed up. So now, for better or worse, and you can just get up and walk away or scream or hit me if I’m wrong. God knows I’ve been wrong before, and I’ll be wrong some times long after we forget this talk. But I realized then that I have …..a daughter.” As if to punctuate the word, he squeezed Caleb’s hands once again and before the boy had a chance to process what he had just heard, his stepfather pulled him close for a tentative hug.

“You know?” The boy….the child….the girl could hardly believe her ears. What had threatened to be the worst moment in her brief life proved to be the turning point as her stepfather demonstrated just how much she was loved. He pulled Caleb closed once again and kissed her on the cheek; a fatherly welcoming kiss…a defining kiss.

“Now….if you tell me the reason you and your friend and her parents came to speak with us tonight is because you got a C- in Calculus, then we’ve really got a problem, but I expect the smile under those tears is telling me that I was right?” He lifted the girl’s chin softly, almost as an inspection to see if everything was alright. It wasn’t entirely alright, since the conversation had to continue inside with the girl’s mother….but sometime between that moment and forever, it would be just fine.

Next: Baobei!

Music from Serenity
composed by David Newman,
Greg Edmonson, and Joss Whedon

All quotes and paraphrases based
on dialog from Firefly and
Serenity