Title: Deserve
Series: A new day dawning
Author: Sevangel
Disclaimer: Not mine
Rating: R
FYI: This is it; this is the part that I first had in mind when I started writing this story. This is where it was always heading and I'm glad to finally be there. It's not the end, yet, but it is nearing there.
-
Mal glances up from the paper he's writing on when he hears Jayne walking into the mess. He knows it's Jayne; ain't nobody else on his crew walk as loud as the merc does. It's interesting really; Jayne can be silent as a mouse at times and loud as a herd of cows at others.
"Where's your better half?" Mal questions curiously.
"With Kaylee." Jayne drops down onto the chair beside Mal, his brows furrowed with stress.
"What's wrong?" Mal asks, slightly worried. "You and River ain't havin' problems, are ya cause I don't know if this boat could handle you two…"
"We ain't havin' problems." Jayne interrupts with a glare. "We're as good as we've always been."
"Then why do you done look like somebody took your favorite toy away?" Mal asks.
"Me and River been married four months tomorrow." Jayne replies.
Mal stops to think about that. "Yeah, guess you have. You havin' second thoughts or somethin'?"
Jayne just glares at him.
"Okay, you ain't havin' problems and you ain't havin' second thoughts bout gettin' married." Mal replies. "You wanna explain what the hell is goin' on in that thick head of yours?"
"We stayin' over night when we get to Bellasphere?" Jayne asks.
"Hadn't planned on it." Mal answers. "Why?"
"Can we stay?" Jayne asks through clenched teeth, hating have to ask Mal for something. "And can you get every one else off?"
"You gonna trash my mess again?" Mal asks.
"No." Jayne replies.
"Fine." Mal agrees. "But any mess you make, you better clean up."
"I will." Jayne assures him. "And Mal, thanks."
Mal nods though he doesn't really know what Jayne's thanking him for. "Now I just gotta figure out what we're gonna do while you're takin' over the boat."
"What you did last time." Jayne says. "Get rooms."
"We ain't really got the money for that many rooms." Mal replies.
"Only need three." Jayne says. "Kaylee and the doc, Zoe and Wash, and you and Nara."
Mal glares at Jayne.
"She's been sleepin' in your bunk for three weeks, Mal." Jayne smirks. "Everybody knows it, don't know why you two are tryin' to hide it."
Mal glares at Jayne and then glares even harder when the merc starts laughin' so hard he almost falls out of his chair.
"What's so funny?" Zoe steps into the mess and addresses the merc with a raised eyebrow.
"Mal here thinks ain't a one of us knows bout Nara bunkin' with him." Jayne explains.
"What?" Kaylee squeals happily as she runs into the mess, her hand dragging River behind her. "Cap's finally gonna tell us him and Nara are sexin'?"
Jayne snags River's wrist as they pass and pulls her onto his lap. His arms wrap around her waist and he rests his chin on her shoulder.
"You started this?" River asks.
"Yep." Jayne replies.
River giggles when Mal turns bright red, throws his arms up in defeat, and then stomps out of the mess. "Good job; it is time they stopped hiding."
"I don't know." Jayne rumbles into her ear. "Gotta admit, it was all kinds of excitin' sneakin' round with you."
"Yes." River agrees. "But I like sharing a bunk and being able to touch you whenever I want."
"I like that too." Jayne turns his head slightly and nibbles at her smooth neck. "In fact, why don't we go do some of that touchin'?" He doesn't give her time to respond; just stands up, swinging her giggling body up into his arms, and leaves the mess, nodding at the passing doctor on their way.
Simon smiles at River giggles and steps into mess. "What's so funny?"
Kaylee looks up at Simon, her eyes bright with laughter. "Cap just thought he was foolin' us all."
"He honestly thought nobody knew him and Inara were sleeping together?" Simon replies.
"Yep." Kaylee says. "He's almost as big of a boob as you are sweetie."
"Thanks." Simon automatically replies before what she said registers. "Hey!"
Kaylee giggles and grabs his hand. "C'mon, Doctor Tam, I think it's time somebody helped you with your boobiness and I'm just the girl to do it."
Simon smiles and follows her out of the mess. "Yes, you are."
Zoe looks around the empty mess and shrugs. Then, she heads towards the bridge to find her husband.
"Hey, wifey." Wash says, spinning around to smile up at her.
"Hey." Zoe leans over him and sets the auto-pilot.
"Um, what's going on?" Wash asks.
"We're going to go have sex." Zoe replies.
Wash jumps up with a grin. "Shiny."
-
"Nara, I need your help." Jayne says upon the ex-companion opening her shuttle door.
Inara raises an eyebrow before opening the door the rest of the way and gesturing him in. "With what?"
Jayne wordlessly hands her a white box.
Inara sits down and opens the box, staring dumbfounded at the contents. After a few seconds, she pulls the scrap of what feels like silk out. It unfolds to be a dress, spaghetti straps that cut low in the front with almost no back. The bottom of the dress is cut in jagged layers and ends what looks to be mid-calf. The fabric is soft and silky, an almost blood color. "It's beautiful." She comments, looking up at the merc with a confused expression. "Why are you giving it to me?"
"While we're doin' the job, I need you to keep River and Kaylee in here somehow." Jayne says. "And I need you to get her into that dress."
"May I ask why?" Inara replies.
"It's private Nara." Jayne answers. "Will ya just do it?"
Inara nods.
"Thanks." Jayne replies gratefully. "And don't let River know I asked ya to, okay?"
"Won't she just know?" Inara asks.
"She don't read us, not most of the time." Jayne answers. "Don't tell Kaylee, she can't keep a secret and River said everything she's feelin' just kinda sits there, she don't even gotta go lookin' for it. You on the other hand, can keep what you're feelin' down. Just tell her you wanna do a girls time or somethin' like that."
"Okay." Inara agrees. "Though I have to say, I've very curious."
"I'm sure River'll tell you and Kaylee eventually." Jayne replies. "Thanks, Nara."
Inara smiles at the merc. "You're welcome Jayne."
-
"It's so pretty." Kaylee gushes. "Spin round again, River."
River dutifully spins around, loving how the silk feels against her legs. It's a beautiful dress and cut to fit her body perfectly. "You bought this for yourself, Inara?"
"Yes." Inara lies. "I didn't try it on and we were off planet before I realized it wouldn't fit so I was unable to return it." Inara walks around River, amazed at Jayne's purchase. The dress fits beautifully. "Sit down River." Inara gestures to her coffee table. "If we're going to play dress up, we might as well go all the way."
River sits down and listens as Inara and Kaylee talk quietly behind her. She thinks they're hiding something, thinks that Jayne is too but has kept the oath she made with herself and hasn't peaked.
Inara carefully brushes River's hair and then strategically starts piling it up on her head in a soft but rather sexy way. The end result leaves the genius's neck and shoulder bare but doesn't make her look too fancy. She then sorts through her makeup until she finds shades that will compliment the genius while not making her look too dolled up. She knows Jayne prefers River the way she is.
"Oh, you look so pretty." Kaylee squeals excitedly. "You gotta show Jayne; he'll have a ruttin' cow."
"They're not back yet." River protests. "I can't keep Inara's dress on."
"Yes, you can." Inara replies. "They should be back soon."
River starts to argue when somebody knocks on the shuttle door.
"Come in." Inara says, curious as to who's knocking.
"Kaylee, the controls shorted out." Wash announces. "Hey, River, you look nice."
"Thank you." River replies.
"Anyways, I tried to fix it but alas, no luck." Wash says to the mechanic. "Can you come see what's wrong with it?"
"Sure." Kaylee replies, looking up at Wash with a somewhat worried expression. "What's wrong with her?"
"Um, she won't work." Wash says lamely.
"Yeah, but what part of her won't work?" Kaylee replies.
"It's hard to explain." Wash says. "You just have to come and see. Oh, and Nara, you got a wave."
"You can patch it through." Inara replies, confused by who would be waving her.
"No, see, cause that's one of the things that won't work." Wash says.
Inara starts to follow them, River at her side.
"River, you have to stay here." Wash stops the genius.
"Why?" River questions.
"Cause there was a spill." Wash blurts out. "Yeah, a spill and you don't want to get that dress all dirty."
"Perhaps I should just wait until the spill is cleaned." Inara says. "I wouldn't want to get my dress dirty either."
"It's fine." Wash says, grabbing Inara's arm and tugging her to the door. "Plus, you got the wave and all."
"Okay." Inara replies. "River, you can just stay here until I get back; it shouldn't be too long."
River nods and sits down gracefully on Inara's couch.
"Come on." Wash tugs them both out of the shuttle and then slams it shut behind him. Then he looks up at the six-foot plus merc standing outside the shuttle with a glare. "I am so not doing that again. She has to know I was lying."
Kaylee follows Jayne and Wash confusedly. "Where's the spill?" She questions. "And shouldn't we be goin' to the bridge to see what's wrong with Serenity? And Jayne, why ain't you in there with your wife?"
"Them's some wonderful questions, little Kaylee." Mal says. "And I suspect we'll get some answers tomorrow. Till then, let's go."
"Where we goin'?" Kaylee asks. "Nara, what's goin' on?"
"I don't know." Inara replies. "Mal?"
"We're stayin' in town." Mal says. "Got the rooms and everything. Jayne, boats yours till mornin'."
"Thanks." Jayne says.
"Kaylee, what's going on?" Simon asks. "Zoe practically carried me out of the infirmary. Is something wrong? Where's River?"
"Your sis is fine." Mal assures him. "Let's go."
"Go where?" Simon takes the hand Kaylee is holding out to him with a confused expression. "What's going on?"
"We don't know." Kaylee replies. "But we're stayin' in town tonight."
Jayne shuts and locks the door after them and then turns to face the empty bay. With a determined expression, knowing he doesn't have much time before River's curiosity gets the best of her, he gets to work.
-
River sets the book down with a sigh. As interesting as the book on sensual massages is, she can't focus completely on it. Oh, she retained some information for future use but she couldn't focus on it as she normally does when learning something new. She knows Inara and Kaylee have been gone for the better part of twenty minutes and knows the ex-companion's wave couldn't have lasted this long. Plus the fact that she can almost feel Jayne, which is impossible seeing how he seeks her out first thing after returning from a job, she can't keep the apprehension from filling her belly. She walks quietly over to the shuttle door and slides it open a crack. When she doesn't see any spill, she knew Wash was lying though she couldn't figure out why, she slides it the rest of the way open and steps out onto the catwalks. The bay is completely dark, forsaken the candles placed liberally over the bay floor. With a curious frown, she slowly walks down the stairs until she's standing in the middle of the circle made by candles.
"Looks just as pretty as I knew you would."
River spins around to see Jayne approaching her. He's dressed differently, oh he has the same boots and a pair of his nicer cargo pants on, but instead of his standard t-shirt, he's wearing a light blue polo shirt. "You knew about the dress?" River asks the first thing that pops into her head.
"Course I knew." Jayne steps into the circle and takes her arm. "I did buy it."
"For Inara?" River whispers.
"You know better than that." Jayne replies.
"You bought it for me." River states with a smile. "It's beautiful, Jayne."
"Naw, it's just a dress." Jayne replies. "You make it beautiful, kitten." He raises his arm up into the air. "Spin."
River spins slowly, dancing up onto her tiptoes.
"What's going on, Jayne?" River asks, curious as to where everyone is. "I thought Kaylee was fixing Serenity and Inara had a wave."
"Nope." Jayne grins down at her. "Just needed to get them outa of the boat without makin' you suspicious."
"I was suspicious." River replies. "You shouldn't have sent in Wash."
"Didn't have no choice." Jayne says. "Your brother's a worse liar than Wash and if'n Mal or Zoe went in, you'd known somethin' was up since I wasn't lookin' for you."
River glances around at the candles and then back up at Jayne. "That still does not explain what is going on."
"I ain't ever gonna have the money to buy you everythin' you deserve." Jayne says, placing a finger over her lips when she starts to protest. "I know that don't matter to you but it matters to me. You deserve so much, kitten, deserve everything in the verse, like goin' to watch that dancin' you love." He then pulls away from her to walk over to the console by the bay door. He hits a button on Kaylee's portable music player and the bay is filled with soft music. "I may not be able to take you to see them but I can make sure you get to do all the dancin' you wanna do."
River's eyes fill with tears, her heart flooding at the completely romantic display he's showing.
"Kitten?" Jayne questions softly, growing nervous at her tears. "I do somethin' wrong?"
River grabs his arm and tugs him back into the circle. "No." She wraps her arms around his neck and rests her head on his shoulder. "It's perfect."
Jayne wraps his arms around her waist and tugs her closer until her body's flush with his. They dance softly, mostly swaying to the soft music. After a few songs, River pulls away to smile mischievously at him. Before he can ask what she's doing, she walks over to play with music player and the soft music turns into a little faster music, a husky voice singing over some instruments he can't name.
River smiles at Jayne and then dances back to him, her ballet-y moves clashing with the jazz music playing but she doesn't care. She dances circles around him, sometimes standing completely on her tiptoes while at others bending forward on one leg to almost touch the ground with her nose while her other leg rises high into the air.
She looks like a little butterfly, dancin' like she is. And he knows right there he could spend the rest of the night just watchin' her. But she's got other plans. The song ends and another plays and she dances closer until her chest is flush with his.
River leans up to kiss Jayne and pulls away before he can deepen the kiss. Then she turns around and grinds her ass into his crotch, moaning softly when his mouth drops down to suck at her neck.
His eyes almost cross and his mouth automatically drops down to her neck. His hands grip her hips and he moves her in circles, torturing himself with sensation.
"Jayne." River whines, her head tipping back to rest onto his shoulder while her hand grabs his and pushes it to the front of her dress.
"Hold on, kitten." Jayne pulls away from her and practically runs across the bay to the single crate holding their new cargo. He grabs the blanket he left there and jogs back over to her. "Wanna see you in the candlelight."
River nods and watches him spread the blanket in the center of the circle. She starts to push her dress off when he grabs her hands to stop her.
"I'll do that." Jayne pushes the right strap down and presses a kiss against her shoulder before doing the same to her left. He helps her get her arms out and then spins her around so that she's facing him. He lets go of the silky material but instead of falling to her feet, it catches on her hard nipples. "Well, well, look at that." Jayne chuckles and gently rubs his fingers on each hard nub. "I think somebody got themselves all worked up with their little dance."
River moans and then shimmies her body, sighing when she silk slides off her body to puddle at her feet. She steps out of it and then bends over to pick her dress up. She folds it up carefully and walks over to set it down on the crate.
Jayne tilts his head, studying his wife's swaying ass intently.
River steps back into the circle and stops when she reaches Jayne. She follows his gaze and blushes slightly. "I didn't know or I would have worn the appropriate under things."
"Hell, kitten, you could be wearin' a sack and I'd still think you was the sexiest thing in the verse." Jayne cups her ass and pulls her body flush against his. "I don't care if'n you're wearin' cotton panties."
River moans and undulates her hips against his. She slides her hands under his shirt and tugs it off. "I like your shirt."
"Figured you would." Jayne reaches between them to help her unbuckle his belt. "Also figured you'd kick my ass if'n I wore my whorin' shirt."
"You figured right." River growls.
Jayne groans at the sound of her growl. "Gorram, kitten, that was bout the hottest thing I've ever done heard."
"You have no use for a whoring shirt." River says. "Not anymore."
"I know." Jayne agrees. "Which is why I tossed it with the nuddie pictures." He kicks off his boots and pushes his boxers and pants off. Then, taking her hand, he pulls her down onto the blanket. "Got no need for none of it." He declares, sliding his hands up her body to cup her breasts. "Not no more."
River moans and arches into his hands. He rubs the very tips of her nipples with his thumbs until she feels like she's going to explode from just that contact. "More." She pleads. "More."
Jayne bends his head and laps at the pale skin of her right breast. He likes the way the candlelight looks reflectin' off her skin, makes her look like some kinds fire nymph. He nibbles his way to her nipple and then sucks it into her mouth. She moans again and he pulls back immediately. "What's wrong, kitten?"
"Hurt." River moans.
"What hurt?" Jayne asks, looking up and down her body for injuries.
"Your mouth." River explains, opening her eyes to look at him in confusion. "They are sensitive to the touch."
"Since when?" Jayne asks. "They ain't never been before."
River shrugs. "I don't know."
"Well, you're gonna be askin' your brother in the mornin'." Jayne orders.
River rolls her eyes and then tugs his head back to her breasts.
"Whoa now, I ain't gonna hurt you again." Jayne protests.
"You won't." River assures him. "Just be gentle."
Jayne eyes her breasts suspiciously; they're sensitive little things but in all the times he's touched and sucked at them, it ain't ever hurt her. But he pushes that to the back of his mind and focuses on his very needy wife. He blows lightly on her nipple, laughing when she fists her hands into his hair and forces his mouth to her breasts. He lightly licks the right one while one hand moves up to thumb the left one. He continues that way for the next long while, switching the different touches between her breasts.
She's in heaven or at least that's what it feels like. While she's always obtained pleasure from Jayne touching her breasts, it's never been anything like this. Her body feels like a live wire and to her complete surprise, she finds her lower body filling with the very familiar tension despite the fact that he hasn't once ventured below her breasts. And then she's moaning loudly as a soft orgasm floods her body.
Jayne pulls away from her breasts to look up at River in surprise. "You just come, kitten?"
"Yes." River moans, slipping her hands into the sides of her panties. She arches her hips and then pushes them to her feet to kick off. Then she pushes onto his chest until he lies down and crawls on top of him. And before he can speak, she lowers herself onto him.
"Jesus baby." Jayne groans, his hands moving up to grasp her hips. "You okay?"
"Need you." River pants, rising and falling onto him like a madwoman. "Need you so much, Jayne."
His wife is a horny little thing, he knows and appreciates this, but he ain't ever seen her like this. She looks so desperate, like if'n she don't have him inside her, she's gonna keel over. He moves on hand off her hip and slides it down her belly to bury between them. At the first brush of his thumb over her clit, she throws her head back and screams.
She's falling and falling and it feels so good. She feels like something's under her skin, like if he's not inside her she will just waste away into nothing. Then he touches her clit; it's like somebody hurled her into the black. She's screaming and screaming as her body slams down onto his. "More." She begs. "More, Jayne."
Jayne lifts her still pulsating body off his and flips her over onto her hands and knees. He doesn't have to say anything; she spreads her knees wide, her ass high in the air, and looks over her shoulder at him in desperation. "Inside."
Jayne blankets her body with a growl and slams inside her.
River screams again and her arms unable to support her, she falls face forward into the blanket. She grunts at the slight pain and then slams her hips back into Jayne's when he stops thrusting. "I'm okay." She pants out. "More."
Jayne obeys, eyes closing as he pounds into her over and over again. One hand claps over the soft skin of her belly while the other moves lower to find and caress her clit in time with his thrusts. After only a few thrusts, her body arches backwards as she moans out her orgasm. He grits his teeth against the deep urge to empty himself into her and once again pulls out. He turns her onto her back and moves between her spread thighs. "Still want more, kitten?"
River wraps her legs around his back. "Yes please."
Jayne drops his mouth onto hers and thrust into her warm and wet body. She breaks the kiss after a few moments, panting for breath. He then drags his mouth down her body to find a nipple. Keeping in mind her sudden sensitivity, he gently sucks on the harden nub.
She's come so many times in so little time that she doesn't think she's physically able to again; he proves her wrong. At the feel of his mouth sucking on her nipple and his cock filling her so completely, she screams again, the most intense orgasm she's ever experienced ripping through her body; she actually passes out briefly from the pleasure.
His head throws back as he bellows her name, the pleasure running through his body so intense he's surprised he didn't pass out. "Kitten, you a'right?" He manages to pant out.
"Mm hmm." River moans, her legs unclasping lifelessly from his body.
Jayne flops onto his back, pulling River against him as he tries to catch his breath. After a few minutes, he opens his eyes and gently prods his wife. His only response is a snort. "Done worn yourself out, didn't ya kitten?" Jayne ponders out loud. He moves her off him and onto the blanket completely. Spotting his boxers, he pulls them off. Then he walks around the circle and blows out all the candles. He knows he should go ahead and put everything up but gorram if he ain't worn out from intense bit of sexin' they just done did. So instead, he gathers River up, blanket and all, and leaves the bay, intent on going back to clean it up later. It ain't an easy task, gettin' himself and River down into their bunk without wakin' her up or bangin' her onto anything, but he manages. He lays her onto their bed, turning to go clean up the bay, when she grabs his hand.
"Sleep." River orders, tugging onto his arm.
Jayne crawls down beside her, tellin' himself it's only till she's back completely sleep. But with the quietness of their bunk and the tiredness of his body, he's asleep within minutes.
-
River giggles at Jayne's yawn, being reminded of a big bear. She reaches up and kisses his chin fondly. "Thank you, Jayne."
"For what, kitten?" Jayne mumbles, standing up to stretch the sore bones of his body.
"For making me happy." River replies, also standing up to stretch. "For dancing with me even though you do not like to dance."
"Like it well enough with you." Jayne absently kisses her forehead as he searches for his pants. "Fuck, Mal's gonna kill me."
"Why?" River walks over to the small chest holding her things and pulls out a clean dress and pair of panties. She slips them both on and turns to look at Jayne.
"Cause I done promised him I'd clean up the mess fore they got back and I didn't." Jayne answers, reaching over her to grab a pair of shorts. "You go on up and eat, I can hear your belly growlin' from here, and I'll go clean up the bay."
"Your belly is also growling." River points out, her hand patting his firm abs. "My Jayne is hungry."
"And if'n my kitten don't get her cute little ass up that ladder ain't a one of us gonna eat for hours." Jayne says, taking a step towards her.
River giggles and runs over to the ladder. "After we eat." Then she shimmies up, leaving the merc with two very intense hungers. With a groan, he pulls on a somewhat clean t-shirt and pair of socks before climbing up the ladder and heading to the bay. Despite the fact that they spent hours sexin' last night, he knows sure as he knows anything, after they're done eatin', they'll be right back to the sexin'.
-
"Look who it is." Mal says, grinning at River when she walks into the mess. "Where's your worse half?"
"Cleaning up the bay." River replies. "And he is not worse."
"Compared to you he is." Mal says. "And ain't no need to clean up the bay; Kaylee and Nara done did hours ago, little Kaylee oohing and awing over what Jayne did."
"Everyone knows?" River questions.
"Wasn't that hard to figure out, River." Wash says. "Inara told us about the dress he bought you, Mal said he was talking about you two being married four months yesterday and then asking to have the ship. All that added in with the candles and music, well, let's just say Jayne lost a lot of those heartless mercenary points."
River fills a bowl with the protein mush on the counter, smiling at the memory of last night. She walks towards the table, smiling at Wash. "Yes, he…." The bowl falls out of her hand and her legs buckle.
Mal jumps up and barely catches River before she hits the ground. He swings her up into his arms with a very worried expression. "Where's Simon?"
"Him and Kaylee are in her bunk." Inara says, standing up to follow him out of the mess, River's head bobbing lifelessly on his shoulder.
-
Jayne glances around the completely clean bay in shock. Curious as to who cleaned up the bay, he heads towards the mess. And as he turns a hall by the infirmary, he sees somethin' that makes his heart stop and his chest fill with fear; River, limp as a rag doll bein' carried into the infirmary. He tears into the room like a madman, grabbing the first person he sees by the shirtfront. "What happened?"
"We don't know." Wash squeals out. "She just passed out; if Mal hadn't caught her, she'd have hit her head on the table."
Jayne drops Wash and runs over to the table his wife is lying on. "Where's Simon?"
"Kaylee's bunk." Mal answers. "Jayne, you gotta…"
Jayne takes off out of the room, completely forgetting the com only a few feet from his wife, and runs down the halls towards the bunks. He kicks Kaylee's open and jumps down the hatch.
"What the?" It's the only thing that comes out of his mouth before Simon finds himself being ripped off Kaylee's naked body.
"JAYNE!" Kaylee screams, hands moving to cover up her body.
Jayne doesn't even notice Kaylee; he just drags Simon towards the ladder.
Simon manages to grab Kaylee's sheet and once he makes it up the ladder, he fumbles to wrap it around his waist as Jayne shoves him down the hall.
Jayne keeps pushing Simon to the infirmary, not letting go until they're inside. Then he gives the doctor one last shove, pushing him right beside the sickbed.
"What's going on?" Simon asks, glancing down at his pale looking sister.
"Fix her." Jayne orders.
"What's wrong with her?" Simon asks.
"Nothing." River says quietly.
"Hell there ain't nothin' wrong with you." Mal shouts. "Little witch, I not been sittin' where I was, you'd done busted your head open when you passed out."
"I was just hungry." River protests. "I am fine."
"Her breasts are sensitive." Jayne announces.
"JAYNE!" River, Simon, and Mal all shout.
"What, they is." Jayne replies. "Doc, you done assured me she was perfectly healthy but now she's gone and passed out. How do you know she ain't still got that lung thing?"
"Because she recovered from that over three months ago." Simon replies. "Now, if you'll leave, I'll examine her."
"I ain't leavin'." Jayne roars.
"Yes, you are." Simon says. "I'm not being punched again because I'm not fixing her at the rate you expect."
"Let's just wait outside, give the doc peace he needs." Mal suggest to Jayne. "And you couldn't have let him pull on some pants first?"
"No." Jayne replies stubbornly. He follows Mal out but stops once he reaches the doorframe. "There, I'm out."
Simon rolls his eyes and looks around the room for something to hold his sheet up.
"Here honey." Kaylee pushes past Jayne with a glare and hands Simon a pair of pajama pants.
Simon smiles gratefully at her and slides the pants on under the sheet. "Did you bring a shirt?"
Kaylee shakes her head.
Simon hands her the sheet and rolls a stool over to his sister. "Okay, mei-mei, why don't you tell me about what's going on?"
"Nothing." River says. "I'm a little tired and my breasts hurt a little but that's it."
"Hmm." Simon rolls over to grab some equipment before rolling back over to her. "How long has this been going on?"
"I've been feeling tired for a few weeks." River replies.
"WHAT?" Jayne shouts from the doorway. "Kitten, why didn't you tell me?"
"You worry too much." River replies. "And I more hungry to normal and I can't stand being near the engine room."
"Why's that?" Simon asks.
"The smell." River wrinkles her nose. "It makes me sick."
The stethoscope falls out of Simon's hand and clatters to the floor. "It can't be."
"WHAT?" Jayne shouts.
Simon stands up and walks over to the door. "I can't work with you shouting all the time." Then to the disbelief of Jayne and actually himself, Simon slams the door shut and locks it. "Now, where were we?"
"You locked Jayne out." River says, sitting up with wide eyes.
"Yes." Simon agrees, stepping over to grab a small needle.
"Are you giving me a shot?" River asks, wincing at the threats Jayne is yelling against the locked door.
"No." Simon replies. "I just want to run a test."
"What kind of test?" River asks, not even flinching as the needle breaks her skin. "There is nothing wrong with me Simon except maybe being a little run down."
Kaylee furrows her brows for a moment, River's symptoms soundin' awful familiar, and then with an excited squeal, she bounces over to Simon. "She's?"
"I believe so." Simon replies, setting the needle down as he waits for the equipment to run its test.
"This is so shiny." Kaylee squeals.
"What?" River asks, completely confused by what's going on. "Am I sick Simon?"
Simon glances down at the beep and then nods his head to Kaylee. "You can let Jayne in."
Kaylee barely gets the door unlocked when Jayne slams it open and stomps across the room to grab Simon by the neck.
"You ever lock me outa a room my wife's in again and I'll break your gorram neck, dong ma?" Jayne growls.
"I highly doubt your going to want to break my neck." Simon says. "Seeing how you're going to need me in about five months."
"What?" Jayne drops Simon and turns to River. "Kitten, what's going on?"
River sits back in a daze, finally realizing what's going on. After a few seconds, she touches her stomach with a tentative hand. "Really Simon?"
"Yes." Simon turns to smile first at his sister and then at Jayne. "Congratulations, you're going to be a father."
Jayne's legs buckle and he falls to his knees beside his wife. He reaches a shaking hand out to touch her belly and then looks over his shoulder at Simon. "Really?"
"Yes." Simon replies.
Jayne looks at the hand covering her belly and then looks up to River to see tears dripping down her face. "You're gonna be a mama." Jayne whispers.
River chokes on a happy sob. "I know."
"And I'm gonna be a daddy." Jayne whispers.
"I know." River replies just as quietly. "Are you okay with that?"
Jayne cups her belly fondly. "Yeah." He says. "I'm more than okay with it; are you?"
River places her hand over the one he has covering the temporary home their child resides in. "Yes."
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