A/N: So i know i said 3 reviews till i updated, but i couldn't wait to get more posted.

thanks to SINslayer7 and brandywine00 for the reviews.

I always prefer stories with good guy simon, and where I nara gets shut down in some way, because quite frankly i don't like her, she got in the way of possible Jayne/Mal love in both the show and the movie. :)

DISCLAIMER: this is not mine....if it was, jayne and Mal would spend a lot more screen time shirtless :) :)

"River...............River..............Sweatheart....can you hear me?"

"Told him that man was no good, but he didn't listen"

"I know honey, but you know how stubborn BaBa can be" Jayne said, ignoring the involuntary reactions of those behind him, continuing to focus on river and how she was doing, he had to get her calm or Zoe couldn't go into the room to help Simon work on Mal.

"His head is particularly hard, isn't it?" River replied with a small smile.

"that is true sweety, now how about you let Zoe go in and help daddy get all better, then we can go visit shadow, while daddy recovers" he said hoping that a trip to Mal's home world and a visit to his mother would cheer her up enough to let her guard down, so Zoe could get to work.

"Okay, but can you please try not to block the window?" she asked a nervous looking Zoe.

"Sure mei mei" she replied as she slowly walked towards the infirmary

"good girl River" Jayne said once Zoe was safely inside the room.

"I guarded Baba well, didn't i?" she asked nervously.

"you did a wonderful job, and i need you to keep doing it whilst i make sure the rest of the crew are okay, can you do that for me?" he asked her calmly, knowing she could sense his feelings on the matter.

"of course i can" she replied giving him her famous you're an idiot for even asking that look

Jayne stood up and made his way over to the rest of ffthe crew, dreading the questions he knew were headed his way.

"Jayne?" Wash said nervously, "Why were you talking to River that way, normally you just call her crazy and leave the room"

"It's what parents are meant to do when their child is distressed or in pain" Jayne replied.

"PARENT!!, Jayne, what is going on and why is River calling Mal, dad?" Inara exclaimed (the 'why didn't he tell me about it' went unsaid).

"What i want to know is how simon didnt know about this new relationship?" Kaylee said from her spot near the infirmary window, making sure not to block River's view.

"what makes you think he doesn't know?" Book asked.

"Because Mal is still breathing" Wash muttered under his breath.

"Who do you think organised the adoption papers?" Simon said from the infirmary doorway.

The whole crew looked puzzled at the sudden relief on Jaynes face when Simon was able to make an offhand comment, knowing it meant nothing was terribly wrong.

"Jayne!" Simon said looking at Jaynes face, "I know you wont be going to your bunk tonight, but can you atleast try and get that daughter of yours to go to bed at a decent hour tonight"

"sure, Si" Jayne said as he walked into the infirmary.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Back in the corridor -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Simon?" Kaylee asked

"yeah" Simon said tiredly

"what the gorram hell just happened?" she replied

Even thought they had discussed this between them they hadn't planned on telling the others unless absolutely necessary.

"Jayne and Mal, came to me about a year ago and we discussed River and our parents, and what a crappy job they had done protecting us from the evils of the 'verse" Simon began

"we'd been talking for about an hour when River came into the common room, she didn't say a word just walked towards us and sat on the lounge between Mal and Jayne, 5 minutes later she was asleep, it shocked us all, because of what the alliance did to her, she didnt feel comfortable sleeping in a room with any one except me, and even that made her restless sometimes. We asked her about it the next day and she said it was the only place in the 'verse she had found where she could feel peaceful and safe. Two weeks later I sent a set of adoption papers to our parents from a remote moon and picked them up a while later, River is now legally River Marie Cobb-Reynolds, she calls them both Father, or Papa and I havent seen her this happy or content since before she went to the academy" simon finished.

"Wow" wash said

"but why Cobb-Reynolds" Inara asked, clearly still annoyed that Mal hadn't told her any of this, she was going to faint when he told her the next part, Simon thought.

Book seemed to anticipate this aswell, because he subtely moved to stand behind Inara.

"Because that's Mal and Jayne's last name" Simon said like it was the most natural answer in the world.

"but how?" Inara said failing to understand the meaning, but Kaylee got it, judging by the smile on her face.

"the cap'n and jayne are Married, Thats so shiny" she said giggling and dancing in the hallway.

Book caught Inara before she hit the ground.

AWWWW!, poor Inara.....NOT.

well hope you enjoyed this chapter, Reviews are love.

kellea XXOO