Jayne pulled his hat over his head and rolled over. He couldn't sleep for the crying in the next bunk. He grunted and tried to ignore it but he couldn't. He sat up and pulled on his shirt and stomped out of his bunk.
"Where the gorram hell is that girl?" He muttered. He could hear music coming from her bunk and a few of her giggles. He walked to Kaylee's bunk and was about to knock loudly on the door when he heard Simons voice.
"You are so pretty when you're drunk." Simon said slurring his words. He heard Kaylee giggle and Jayne sighed. Jayne slapped his forehead and looked around. Inara was with a client and Mal had taken Zoe for a night on the town.
He cursed under his breath. Zoe should've known better than to leave Kaylee to Babysit. He himself had refused to go out with the hope he would catch a few extra z's. He sighed and realised it wasn't going to happen without him having to something about the crying.
Jayne turned to Zoes' bunk and climbed down.
The crying was horrible, and he knew meant one thing. As he approached the crib he could smell the kids diaper and he cringed. Part of him wanted to spoil Kaylees good time, but he knew he couldn't do that. The poor mechanic had few things to be happy about of late and a few stolen moments with the doc was something he wasn't about to ruin. He steeled himself and picked up the crying baby.
The kid definitely had Washs' eyes and he could tell by the dark hair sprouting on its head that it was going to have Zoes curls.
"Come on Kid, lets get you cleaned up." He said with a note of displeasure. The kid had stopped crying and was staring at Jayne with wide eyes. Jayne grabbed the diaper bag from the floor by the crib and climbed out of the bunk. He walked to the dining room and pulled a small blanket from the bag and laid it out.
It had been many years since he had changed a diaper and he never thought he would have to do it again; until at least he had his own kids. He smiled at the concept of having children. He was getting older and though the thought of quitting his job was hardly going to happen any time soon, the thought of having a wife and a few kids didn't sound half bad.
He pulled out a clean diaper and set it on the table beside the kid. He undid the dirty one and took a deep breath and held it as he pulled it off. He rolled it up and wrapped it up and threw it aside. The little girl in front of him gurgled and he cracked a smile; such a cute thing. He took the baby wipes from the bag and cleaned her up.
"You remind me of my sisters." he said to her. "Damn cute, and I also changed them too when my Ma and Pa were busy. Musta done it a hundred times, but if there is one thing you never get used to is the smell." He said wrinkling his nose. He flung some baby powder on her and put on the clean diaper. "But this is between you and me kid. Don't want the others thinkin' I've done and gone soft on 'em. I'll tell Mal and Zoe that little Kaylee changed you, 'cause she's got herself drunk enough that she won't remember." The baby smiled and Jayne picked her back up and was about to take her back to her crib when she started to cry again.
"Oh gorram it, you ain't hungry too?" He said. He went to the chiller and saw a couple of bottles of Zoes' milk sitting in the fridge. "Kaylee you owe me big time for this." He said. He picked up one of the bottles and placed it on the bench. He pulled out a pot from the cupboard and put it on the stove. The kid was whining in his ear and he was too tired to lose his patience and give up, and he couldn't just let the kid starve because Kaylee broke her hundred thousand promises to Zoe. He put water in the pot and began to warm it. He placed the bottle of milk in the pot and waited. He bounced slightly trying to rock the baby to silence.
He pulled the bottle from the pot and tested it on his arm. He sighed and turned off the stove, it was the right temperature. He was somewhat glad he had spent so many years taking care of his sisters otherwise the kid would have sat with a dirty diaper and gone hungry while Everyone else was out having a good time.
Yawning he walked to the sofa in the common area and sat down. He sat the kid on his lap and began to feed her. he looked down at her and smiled. She was awfully cute, despite having Wash for a father. He was kind of sorry that the kid wouldn't ever meet her pa. He supposed if they ever stuck around long enough everyone would tell her how many times he saved their lives. Jayne had to admit Wash was one of, if not the best pilot he had ever flown with, and he had been on a lot of ships over the years.
He watched her as she sucked away on the bottle. He yawned again and wished he was back in his bunk fast asleep as he thought he would be. Kaylee should have known better than to start drinkin' with the doctor, and he wondered where the moonbrain was. She was probably skulking around the bridge or the cargo bay. He hoped she wouldn't find him here with the kid, he was sure he would never live it down. They'd probably start calling him Momma Jayne, and he chuckled. He yawned again, it was kind of funny. He sighed and was suddenly feeling very sleepy. He looked at the kid who looked about as tired as he felt. The bottle was only half way done.