Disclaimer: This is Joss's world, I'm just playing in it.

Simon waited outside the bathroom until Kaylee emerged. She was pale and shaky. Simon took her arm and gently set her down on the couch.

"Kay, bao bei, please, just let me run a few blood tests."

"It ain't nothin sweetie."

"You've thrown up every morning for the last three days." Her brushed a damp lock of hair from her cheek. "Please Kaylee, just let me run a few blood tests. If I don't find anything, I'll stop fussing, I promise."

Kaylee gave a mock exasperated sigh, but Simon could see the twinkle in her eyes. "Alright, fine." Simon didn't waste any time, he pulled Kaylee to her feet and half dragged her to the infirmary. He took the blood sample quickly, before she could change her mind, prepped it and slid it into the scanner.

"So can I go do some work now?" she teased. Simon smiled at her and kissed her gently.

"Yeah. The tests should take about an hour. I'll come find you then. If you get sick again before that though, come tell me." Kaylee grinned and kissed him back before sashaying out. She glanced back and caught the look he was giving her. She grinned again and silently thanked Inara.

Simon shook himself, and turned his attention back to his work. He busied himself tidying up his shelves and updating his records while he waited for the tests to finish running and his machine to spit out the report. When it beeped an hour later, he scanned through the script quickly and then sat down abruptly, his head spinning.

He stared blankly at the faintly glowing screen for a moment before shaking his head. It wasn't possible, it just wasn't. He stood up resolutely and ran a second sample through a very specific test. The result took fifteen minutes. It was the same as the first time. Simon refused to accept what he was seeing and kept running and re-running the tests. When he ran out of Kaylee's blood, he took a sample of his own. He ran the same test he ran every two weeks and the result was the same as it always was. He didn't like the results any better. He took a second sample and ran that until he ran out. When the last report had popped up and been read, Simon went looking for Kaylee. She was just leaving the engine room.

"Hey sweetie, I was wondering where you'd got to. Thought your tests were only gonna take an hour?"

"I need another blood sample."

Kaylee frowned. "I thought you always took a sample big enough to run a couple if ya had to." She stepped toward him anxiously. There was something in his tone that worried her.

"I do. I did. It wasn't enough."

"If'n you want another sample cause the first one didn't show you anything, I ain't giving you one."

Simon shook his head impatiently. "I found something. I need to confirm it."

"Is it somethin bad?" Kaylee asked, shifting uneasily and trying to find some reassurance in his eyes.

"Just come give me another sample Kaylee, I want to get these tests run." He turned on his heel and strode away. Chewing anxiously on her lip, Kaylee hurried after him. She let him take another sample and watched him prep it for the tests.

"You gonna come have lunch while the tests run?"

"No, I need to keep an eye on it." He wouldn't look at her and Kaylee's feeling of unease intensified.

"I can wait with ya," she offered.

"I'd rather you didn't Kaylee. You need to eat something." Knowing she'd been dismissed, Kaylee slid off the stool and made her way slowly to the door.

"Simon...if ya found something really wrong, you'd tell me wouldn't ya? Even if you weren't sure yet?"

"I haven't found anything seriously wrong with your blood." He still didn't turn to look at her and Kaylee left reluctantly. As she headed for the mess she wondered if she should ask River what was bothering her brother. But River had been acting a bit off towards her lately and Kaylee wasn't sure she'd get an understandable answer out of the younger girl.

Kaylee picked at her lunch and kept glancing at the door, hoping to see Simon appear. But by the time lunch finished, he still hadn't appeared. She'd been hoping no one would notice her mood, but she should have known that the captain or Inara wouldn't; and that they wouldn't let her get away without telling them what was wrong.

"Kaylee, mei mei, what's wrong? Are you and Simon fighting?" Inara had moved to sit beside her friend and slipped an arm around her shoulder. Mal leaned forward to hear her answer.

"I don't think so, but he's acting kinda weird." She paused and looked towards the door again before continuing. "I wasn't feelin well this morning, I told him it weren't nothin, but he insisted I let him run some tests. So I did, and he was supposed to find me when they were done, but he didn't show up til just before lunch, and then he wouldn't tell me what he found, just demanded another sample. And he won't look at me." She said this all very fast and when she finished she could feel that her eyes were wet.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Inara said soothingly. "He'd tell you if he'd found something wrong. Maybe River's having a bad day, or maybe he messed something up on the first tests and doesn't want to tell you that. You know how he gets sometimes." Kaylee wanted to be reassured, but she knew Inara well enough to know she wasn't entirely sure either.

"Go make him tell you what's wrong." Mal advised.

"I guess I should. But...the way he was actin. He seemed angry and he wouldn't look at me. He ain't never done that before."

Inara squeezed her shoulder comfortingly but before she could say anything, River appeared in the door.

"Simon's done with his tests. He needs to talk to you." The chill in her voice made Kaylee shiver as the younger girl disappeared without waiting for a response.

"And there's that too. River's been mad at me for near a month now, and I still can't figure why!"

"It's probably nothing personal." Inara soothed.

"I suppose. But now both Tams are mad at me, and I don't know why."

"I'm sure Simon's not really mad at you. Do you want me to go with you to talk to him?"

Kaylee sighed and stood up. "Nah, I'll be all right." She managed a small smile for the captain, trying to ease the frown on his face. The smile he gave her was a little grim, but she took it anyway.

Simon was waiting for her when she reached the infirmary. She smiled at him hopefully, but his cold expression didn't change. She fidgeted anxiously with a flap on her pocket. "Did ya find somethin?"

"I did." His voice was even colder than his eyes.

"Is it...what is it Simon?" She could feel tears in her eyes again and she tried to think what kind of sick could make Simon mad at her. It didn't make any kind of sense.

Simon regarded her for a moment then said, in the stiffest voice Kaylee had ever heard, "You're pregnant."