i love it!

What worked well? Pretty much everything. A perfect little gem of a story.

Late to the fandom, I'm stumbling across both the dross and the gold and this is definitely in the latter category.

Particular favorites - more yelling and screaming from Wash than Zoe; Jayne reading the comic book and mouthing the words, with delayed reactions when he got the jokes; River telling a story to a piece of equipment; an ACCURATE description of a newborn (first time I've seen it in a Zoe/Wash have a baby story - Zoe giving birth to Wash clones make me cranky thinking about the tiny, tiny genetic probability of that happening, even if she was carrying recessive genes); Mal thawing; the indescribable sensation of having all of your priorities reorganized by a baby - actually most of the story.

What you could have done better? Not a darn thing. Perfect as is.

Aw ... very cute.

Very sweet, and neat little scene there at the end.

I liked this a lot. I want more, though. It feels like you could've taken this and continued on. Very good use of words and images to get us into Mal's heart and head.

Lovely. I really did tear up when Mal started coming undone. So sweet and well written. Your command of grammar and grammar is excellent and makes your stories a joy to read.

River curled up in a corner, quietly telling a story to the power coupling Kaylee had left off repairing. This was just priceless. :-)

This is so well-written, and what a fitting name for their daughter! And you write Wash's shoutings so well... that's a really random comment to make, but it's true. This is so very good. I always wondered "what if", and here you have answered that for me very, very well. Thank you.

Ver sweet and nice. I can imagine that being how any kid would come to Serenity.

that was right shiney. *tears up* i would have liked to see a baby on the boat

So lovely! I think that's exactly the way Mal would react to a baby, especially a child of Zoe's. He's such a poor, gorgeous tortured soul. He really needs some "hope" in his life. I'm glad (in an evil way) that Inara's not happy now that she's left Serenity. God! When we she and Mal get it together! Anyway, I thought you characterized everyone perfectly (ha, especially when Wash's hand was being crushed by Zoe) and you got the perfect mix between sweet and dark. I very much look forward to reading more fics by you. ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC WORK!

This was the first piece of yours I read. I adore Zoe, and I am immensely intrigued by her relationship with Wash. The scene in 'Heart of Gold' caught my attention as well, and I have read several stories exploring the 'what ifs'. This is, by leaps and bounds, the best of them. It's almost bittersweet, which keeps it from being saccharine. You let Wash and Zoe keep their dignity. There's something about the "moment of intense silence" that so captures Zoe for me, even though she's barely present in the story. The moment when Mal holds the baby was just beautiful, and the moment between him and Inara was perfect. It's such a short piece - I want more! Tell me the rest of the story.

Beautiful. Well done.

Yep, made me cry! Right when we got to "You will never be alone or lost or afraid or hungry, he promised her. Not while there is breath in my body, not while there is a single thing I can put my hand to."
Beautiful, and perfect, and just what a reaction to a new baby *should* be, and I can completely see Mal having that reaction. Wonderfully written.

Oh my... that's beautiful...

Aw... Mal's reactions are gorgeous. Nice work.
Eve

I like this. I like how you combined humor and sentiment.

Aw...very sweet. I really hope (no pun intended) that you keep up this story. I would love to see how Hope influences the crew and above all how Jayne will treat her te he. I loved your description of Wash's grovelling very very funny and incredibly in character. I'm also impressed how you had Mal fall for her. I often thought of mal's reaction to Zoe's baby and I always figured he'd be indifferent, but after your fic I'm sure you are right. He'd so love her almost like Kaylee. Please Please keep writing on this subject! I will bow down and kiss your feet...okay maybe I wouldn't go that far but please think about it!