Living on a ship was always exciting but never for the best reasons. There were times where it seemed like the fun was never going to end, that there was still more exciting things to be seen and done. Other days, it seemed like they were trapped in a steel box floating to Buddha knows where.
The others had it easy, Jayne thought with his feet propped up on his bed, Vera and gun cleaning items in hand. Mal and 'Nara both had the baby coming. Kaylee and the doctor. Hell, even Wash had Zoe and we all know that was something no one ever saw coming. River, he pondered, wasn't quite there enough to know what she had missing but Jayne was sure that he had seen her glance at Kaylee and Simon holdin' on to one another and wish for a little of what they had.
"Hmm" A brief thought passed through Jayne's head. What if he could have that? Someone to make the black a little less cold and lot more interestin'.
"Nah" he murmured aloud to himself. Life was simpler without people tyin' you down. He had his family back home, which he loved but could be near for too long, and his people on this ship. That would have be enough. Wouldn't it?
Mal work up in that morning in a right foul mood. He laid in bed for a while, listening to Inara's soft breathing, and tried to figure out what had set him off but he couldn't quite place a finger on it. He knew it couldn't be the job, transporting a load of Paluvian apple rods wasn't terribly difficult but it paid the bills and it kept them safe.
He sighed, rolling over to catch gaze at Inara, her face peace in her sleep. Mal smiled to himself, this was the first night in a long time that she'd been able to sleep through the night without have to get up and throw up what ever nutrient specific food the doc' had given her.
Simon had explained that pregnancy on a ship wouldn't be easy. The body didn't like to confuse the idea of flying around in a tin can with guarding something so precious inside of itself. Turns out pregnant women fared way better on land than they ever did in space but Inara was stubborn. She stuck out her chin and told Mal and Simon that they could both be damned to guay if they thought they could ship her off to some planet for the next 9 months.
So she stayed and Mal found better ways of taking care of his Mrs., this meant safer jobs with less pay but a hell of a lot less risk. Sometimes though, Mal imagined how long he could've lived the way he did before Miranda, before him and Inara finally admitting to what they felt. It wouldn't have been a long life but it wouldn't have been a happy one either. That much he knew.
That's why he was so bothered by the feeling in his gut that was preventing him from enjoying time in the bed with his woman. He'd learned a long time ago to trust his instincts, something his mother had instilled in him a long time ago on their ranch. So this feeling wasn't something that he ignored lightly, he'd felt it whenever they saw Precious or Niska, but he knew that he had to deal with them for the coin. Whatever was coming wasn't pretty, Mal knew that, but as long as his wife, his baby and his crew made it out fine, he'd be ok.
Wrapping his arms around Inara, he kissed her cheek gently. He'd do whatever he had to do to keep them safe.