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Jayne shoved the man down, face first into the dirt, smirking when he groaned. "That's whatcha git fer thinkin' it's such a good idea ta go about's drunker'n hell an' startin' trouble in this town." He leaned down and his cocky grin widened. "Sun don't feel too good right now, huh?"

The man just groaned and cradled his head in his hands. Jayne patted his back too roughly. "You start any trouble tonight an' you'll end up right back here, dong ma?"

The man nodded and slowly rose to his feet. "Yessir, Sheriff," he grumbled, with gritted teeth as he tried to shield his eyes from the sun. Jayne snorted as he watched the man stagger down the road in the direction of the bar. He'd be back in the cell by nightfall, Jayne was sure of that. He turned around and headed back into the small, beige building. Art was sitting at a small wooden desk too small for his large frame to sit behind. He looked out of place and Jayne tried not to laugh when he thought about himself behind his own small, less than adequate wooden desk. The building was larger than it looked. There was one main cell behind their desks. It was where they held drunk men mainly, who needed to sober up before being set free to wreak more havoc on Tree Gap. They were always, in some way, employed by Stockley-or so they said.

Jayne settled down in his chair behind his ridiculously small desk and cracked his neck as he watched one particular smelly drunk named Bert snooze off the alcohol in his system. Art shook his head at the man. "Ya know, sometimes, I think he's dead an' then he'll make this big ol' snorin' noise like he done just tried ta inhale a ruttin' frog."

"Now, I been pretty drunk 'afore, but I ain't never handled alcohol the way he does," Jayne said with a disbelieving shake of the head. The man in question shifted and settled in the span of a second. Jayne and Art both tilted their heads to the side in anticipation of when the man would wake up. He let out a louder than loud croaking snore and both Art and Jayne jumped.

"Teasing the town drunk again are we?" Jayne whirled around quickly, and broad smile appearing on his face. "Hey, Baby, what you doing here?"

River shrugged. "We missed our men."

She quickly stepped inside the doorway and Delly followed. Art perked up at the sight of his wife. "Who'd you leave the kids with?"

"River sweet talked Isaiah inta watchin' 'em. Promised she'd make him his very own cherry pie if'n he would watch em'."

Jayne's smiled proudly. "My girl could sweet talk just 'bout anybody in the 'verse!"

River set a large brown paper sack on his desk. "Brought you something to eat."

Jayne pulled her onto his lap as he opened his bag. "Honey, you make the best lunches," he said as he pulled out an apple and bit into it. She beamed at him and kissed his cheek. He gulped down his bite and nuzzled her neck, winding his sticky fingers covered in apple juice into her hair. "So, how're all my girls doin' today? They ain't givin' you any troubles are they?"

"Nope, haven't gotten sick in over a week."

He gave her a quick, intense kiss. "Good, that's what I like to hear."

River stood reluctantly. "I promised Susie and the boys I would make them hats like yours for next year."

"They ain't gonna ever look as cunning as me."

River tried hard not to smile as she kissed him again. "Bye, Jayne. I love you."

"Love you, too, Baby. See ya at home," he called after her as he watched her walk out the door behind Delly. Jayne leaned back in his chair and continued to munch on his apple when the drunk croaked again. He and swiveled in their chairs to watch the drunk sleep away the day.

"Ya, know, I thought this job would be more exciting," Art grumbled, running a hand through his short blond hair. "Oughta get paid more for getting bored near ta death."

"Yeah," Jayne muttered, "think I liked bein' a criminal better."

"When was you a criminal?"

"'Fore I got married."

"And how does River feel about that?"

Jayne smirked. "Not too bad on account a she was one a my co-workers."

"Oh yeah," Art snorted, "an' what was her job?"

"Well, besides the bein' all," Jayne made a wild hand gesture, "her job was ta pitch fits an' get us outta bein' pinched."

"She any good at it?"

Jayne smirked. "Still alive ain't we?"

"Can I come out now?"

Jayne and Art turned to look at the now fully awake drunk in the cell. "Don't know, you fully sober now, Bert?"

"Hell no, but I ain't piss drunk, Sheriff," Bert snorted, rubbing his head. Jayne rolled his eyes as he stood and picked up the key to the cell. "You know, maybe if ya didn't drink so much, 'stead a sleepin' in here, you'd be sleepin' in yer own bed." He unlocked the cell and gave Bert a pointed look. "Possibly, with a willin' woman."

Bert just grunted. "Wish this town had some whores."

"Whatcha wanna whore for?"

Bert gave Art a funny look and Jayne settled back down in his chair, pulling out a whetstone and Binky. "Man's got needs, Art."

Art raised an eyebrow and Bert turned to look at him. Jayne spat on his whetstone, licked Binky from hilt to tip and began to methodically run the blade over the stone in careful strokes. Feeling their intense stares, he looked up. "What?"

"You sayin' you been with a whore," Art asked incredulously. Jayne shrugged. "I had a itch, I got it scratched."

"What about River?"

"Wasn't tagether then an' she was sorta...off limits." Jayne propped his feet up on the desk. "Nowadays, I when my itch needs scratchin', well I get it scratched. Got the shiniest woman in the 'verse ta help me scratch it, too."

"Well, how romantic of you," Art muttered sarcastically. Jayne gave him a hard look. "Hey, I ain't gonna lie an' say I ain't never done nothin' weren't bad. Don't 'xactly mean I'm proud of it 'er anything. Just sayin' is all. 'Sides, River knows everythin' I ever done an' if she's okay with it, s'all that matters ta me. S'long as she's happy, I'm happy."

He ducked his head to work on his project, ignoring Art's disapproving look and Bert's curious one.

River was in the front yard, swaying gently to the soft breeze with her head tilted to the side. Her eyes were closed and her right hand rested on her stomach. Jayne stopped and watched her for a moment. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled brilliantly at him. Jayne gave her a small smile in return, hugging her gently and kissing her lips.

"I was listening to them hum. They have lovely voices," she informed him as she led him into the house. Jayne nodded and settled down into one of the chairs around the kitchen table. River set his dinner down in front of him and pulled herself up onto the table to sit. He stared at his dinner for several moments.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He shrugged. River pushed the plate away from him and scooted to sit in front of him. She set her tiny feet down atop his knees and cupped his face with her hands. "Jayne, what's wrong?"

He shrugged again and averted his gaze. She kissed him then, her lips brushing over his as she spoke, "You know I love you, right?"

She gave him another kiss and whispered, "No matter what you do, what you've done. I love you and I won't stop."

He met her gaze reluctantly. "Ya mean that, Baby?"

A small smile curved her lips as she nodded. "I do."

He dropped his chin to rest on her knee. "So, I guess I'm bein' mopey fer no reason, right?"

River ran her fingers through his hair. "Jayne, I've been by your side for a very long time and I've seen you do many things. You did what you had to, when you had to and you did what you thought was in your best interest. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Wish I could still change some of them decisions," he mumbled against her, "some of them weren't...well, you know the decisions I'm thinkin' on."

River sighed and pulled his face up so she could better look him in the eye. "Jayne, I don't care. That's not who you are anymore. If it still was..." She bit her lip and cracked a grin. "Well, then I suppose I would be beating you up on a daily basis."

Jayne raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Ya mean you'd put up with...me an'...really?"

River rolled her eyes. "I hardly think beating you senseless for adulterous behavior counts as putting up with it."

Jayne sucked in his lower lip and chewed on it thoughtfully as he stared at his wife. "You love me that much, huh?"

It was River's turn to be incredulous. "Of course, why wouldn't I?"

Jayne shrugged, making a face. "Well, I am kind of an ass, Honey."

"And you'll always be one," she replied, kissing the tip of his nose, "just as I'll always be a reader. I like that you're an ass. Though I like to refer to it as you being more blunt and straightforward than most. And you're not an ass to me."

"That's 'cause yer all pretty an' I'm awful sweet on ya," he murmured against her lips. She smiled. "I know."

"You know everything," he teased, pinching her thigh. He leaned forward and gave her a sound kiss. She sighed against his lips before pulling away. "I take it this whole thing had something to do with work."

"Yeah," Jayne sighed as leaned back in his chair to gaze up at her thoughtfully. "Kinda get ta feelin' like we're still on Serenity, ya know? People here know us, but they don't. They don't know what we was like an' they don't know what we done."

He rubbed his hand up and down her calf, staring at the edge of the table. "Wouldn't feel so bad 'bout it if I didn't feel like we're hidin' somethin'."

River nudged his side with her toes. "Maybe, we should tell them then. Isaiah wouldn't mind and Art and Delly, given the time, would be understanding."

"Yeah, we should, but I don't want nobody gettin' ideas they shouldn't be just yet."

River nodded. "Stockley."

"Right," Jayne said with a scowl, "that hun dan's been runnin' his mouth all over town 'bout you an' with you bein' what you are an' us havin' kids on th'way it just don't seem like we oughta be broadcastin' our less than respectable past ta everybody." Jayne let out a big sigh. "Hell, th' only really honorable thing we done we can't really prove an' it's still a sore spot fer the both a us."

"Seems to me, our lives are just too exciting," River mused. He grinned up at her. "An' violent. Which I ain't havin' no little girls takin' part in."

"Jayne Cobb," River snorted, "you know, the first bedtime story you tell them will be about how you got Vera."

Jayne huffed indignantly up at River, glaring. "Well, I'll leave out the killin' part 'till they're older."

River bit her lip. "Hopefully, all this will be resolved before they are born. I do not wish for my first foray into parenthood to be based upon lies."

He nodded. "Can't be lyin' to our kids right off the bat; yer right on that one."

Jayne gently took her hands in his and laced their fingers together. "An' it'd be awful nice ta be able ta tell em' 'bout Wash an' Book an' Serenity. How good it was then."

"Yes, it would be nice," River replied, her voice soft. Jayne leaned forward aburptly and buried his face in her stomach, kissing it lightly. "Still gotta come up with some good names, River."

River combed her fingers through his hair and leaned back slightly to allow him better access to her abdomen. "We have a while before they get here."

"Well, they don't mind that they ain't got names yet, do they," he asked worriedly, "don't want 'em thinkin' we ain't bein' responsible 'er takin' this seriously. 'Cause, we are takin' this seriously."

"Jayne, they're only two months old and their biggest concern as of right now is when they will be getting more food," she laughed. "And speaking of food, your dinner is getting cold."

She poked his baked potato and frowned. "Nevermind, it is cold."

"S'Okay," he mumbled against her stomach, "m'not hungry."

"Well, then, what," River tilted sideways when her husband nuzzled her in a particularly ticklish area and giggled, "do you want to do?"

"Play with your stomach," came the muffled reply. Her giggling increased as he turned his face to the side and continued to rub. "Jayne, it looks the same as it did this morning." Her voice became quiet. "I still think we should tell them. All at once. If Isaiah is there and isn't upset by it all, Art and Delly will be less inclined to consider what we've had to tell them irrationally."

"Alright, if it's what you want, Baby, we can do it."

"I do."

Jayne nodded, then pulled away suddenly. "You feed Sam an' Wolf?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Big Grey also had some carrots mixed in his feed sack for dinner."

Jayne squinted. "Somethin' feels off 'bout tonight. I checked on the chickens, so that can't be it."

River watched in amusement as he stood up abruptly and picked up his plate of untouched food, putting it in the refrigerator. He paced for a few moments and River bit her lip as she let her eyes follow his movements. River fisted her hands in her skirts and waited as he turned away from her and leaned on the sink. "Just, somethin' don't feel right. Somethin's off, Honey, I can feel it."

"I think maybe, what you're feeling is shock," she laughed. "For once, there's nothing that needs tending to tonight. I think it may have thrown you off some, Jayne."

Jayne turned and nodded, still frowning. "Never figured bein' normal would be just as time consumin' as runnin' fer our lives all the time."

River sat up straighter and smiled. "While it's not exactly a lazy day, it is a lazy night and those, although shorter, are just as good."

Jayne shoved off of the the counter and leaned against the chair, staring at his wife's legs the whole time. He grabbed onto her foot and pulled it up, causing her to stick her leg straight out into the air. "Now, how is it that yer sa Gorramn short compared to me, but yer legs go on forever?"

River snorted with laughter and pulled her foot from his hand a she swatted his arm. "Quit flirting."

"Hey," Jayne huffed indignantly, "I'll flirt with you whenever I Gorramn please. An' if anybody should quit doin' anythin' then it's you. You flirt more'n I do."

"You know that's not true, I flirt just as much."

"You're lyin' again."

River raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Jayne's head bobbed up and down as he nodded profusely. "You love it when I flirt with you."

River cracked a grin at her husband. "Maybe just a little," she murmured as she pulled him down for a kiss. Jayne chuckled against her lips. "Liar, liar, skirt on fire."

She giggled back and wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him. "What say you to me running us a bath?"

"That sounds like the most wonderful thing in the 'verse ta me right now." He pecked her on the tip of the nose. He grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her back to him as she moved to leave the kitchen. "Hey," he said quietly, wrapping his arms around her waist. He dipped his head down to kiss her slowly. "I love you."

River reciprocated by giving him a slow, languid kiss of her own. "I know."

Mal rubbed a hand down his face and stared out at the blackness surrounding Serenity as he let out a long sigh. They had been having all manner of trouble as of late. The 'verse was turning on him, he was sure. While the work was steady, it was more dangerous than ever and Mal had already gone through two gunhands who hadn't exactly been on the same level as the reputations that preceded them. Simon was always having to disinfect the infirmary because someone was always being injured.

"You okay, Sir," Zoe asked and he turned to stare at her. His eyes fell immediately to the sling her right arm was in. Her gunhand. They couldn't afford to work with Zoe out. They hadn't found another merc for hire last port and with Zoe temporarily disabled, the only person experienced to go out on jobs was Mal himself. They needed another paying job, but they wouldn't be taking on any work with her out and Serenity seemed to be hurting for some odd reason.

"No, I ain't," Mal muttered as he turned back around. Zoe's boots clanked against the metal grating as she moved to the co-pilot's seat and settled in. Mal checked their coordinates and continued, "We don't take on another job soon after this one, we ain't gonna have money. We ain't got no money, we ain't gonna have no food, no medical supplies ta restock the infirmary-which we all been winding up in so often as of late-and no new parts fer this boat which has been actin' up a lot."

"Ship's old, Sir, maybe it's time we take her to ground one last time," Zoe said hesitantly. Mal slammed his fist on the console. "It ain't the ship."

"You sayin' it's Kaylee then, Sir," Zoe argued back, "you sayin' Kaylee ain't doin' her job the way she always has. She ain't responsible for gettin' a new part-brand new- for this here ship and having the ship bust anyway. We ain't got the time, nor the funds ta give her an overhaul an' that's th'only thing aside from dumpin' her and gettin' a new ship we can do."

Mal clenched his jaw and looked away. Zoe leaned forward, her eyes shining sympathetically though she remained as blunt in her speaking as ever. "Now, Mal, I know how you feel about this old boat; I love her, too, but...ain't nobody who ever flew on her ain't loved her. She's just got a few too many miles on her now. Lord knows gettin' a new ship wouldn't even be close to tradin' up, but-"

"No," Mal snapped, cutting her off, "we're gonna drop off this cargo we got-"

"You ain't got nobody to go with you, Sir," Zoe leveled at him, "how do you think it's gonna play out?"

Mal glared at her. "I'll hire some lowlife from town ta take it out with me for five percent. That havin' been said, after we do this job, we're gonna set her down and spend our pay on fixin' her up good and proper. Ship's helped us through all our rough patches an' I aim ta do right by her. We ain't had no honest jobs float our way an' we can't afford the unhonest ones right now. 'Sides, even if we scrapped her an' got us another boat, we wouldn't have enough ta pay fer it."

"How will we eat? We spend all our money on this ship, we ain't gonna have any food-"

"I know, that's why we need to be thinkin' of a place where we can stay an' not have ta worry about expenses outside of repairing and over hauling Serenity." Mal sighed again and nudged his foot against the underside of the console. "We ain't made many friends since...and ain't got any place ta gain shelter that the operative didn't take care of."

Zoe rubbed her forehead with her hand tiredly and grimaced before gritting out, "As much as I hate ta say it, might be wise of us ta get in touch with Jayne."

"You think," Mal asked, "he weren't too thrilled with seein' us when we ran into him last."

Zoe narrowed her eyes coldly. "He owes us, Mal."

She turned away from him and propped her feet up on the co-pilot's console. "He owes me."

Mal, flicked off the autopilot, feeling the need to fly his ship. "Won't argue with that, Zoe."

A/N: Sorry for the late update, I've been suffering from a mixture of insatiable plot-bunnies and writer's block. it's a nasty combo. However, I have been working on this, "Deuces" and "Requiem" in small increments. I want to churn out a chapter each for them before I post another chapter for either this or "Feel the Silence", but like Mal's infamous plans, mine never work out as expected either.

Bert, the town drunk, will make some appearances, but he is a minor character, much like Mr. Carrington and really is only their to provide some comic relief as this is a bit less comical than most of the fics I've written in my opinion (though "Requiem" would be by far the darkest and most devoid of any and all comedy). The discussion I had take place between Jayne, Art, and Bert was to show that now Jayne cares about what others think of him. Not just because he wants to be accepted in the small community, but because he's afraid that if those he has grown close to do not accept him, then perhaps River hasn't truly accepted him. It was also Jayne attempting to share with his friend what his past was in a sense without revealing too much. River and Jayne want very much to be honest with their friends and neighbors. However, with Stockley lurking about Tree Gap and River being in a more than delicate condition, it's decided that only Isaiah, Art, and Delly will be the only ones made aware for the time being.

The next chapter will feature the crew coming together. Jayne's ill ease can be attributed to him sensing the upcoming reunion as River, is too preoccupied with Jayne and the twins to pick up on it. While she does listen to Jayne's thoughts, it is only because she knows he doesn't mind, otherwise she wouldn't do it. Also, because she spends the bulk of her time blocking people out. As it was explained in an earlier chapter, when blocking people out, she is unable to sense when certain things are going to occur.

The idea of the ship breaking and wearing down is somewhat metaphorical. It refers to the familial bonds that each person once retained towards one another. From the discussion between Mal and Zoe, you can plainly see that they no longer agree on all matters. Zoe subconsciously blames Mal for Wash's death because it was his decision to expose Miranda that lead to their fight with the Reavers on Mr. Universe's moon. While Zoe and Mal are still close, they're no longer what they once were. The crew also continues to alternate between ignoring what happened and wallowing in grief and self-pity, which is made quite clear when Zoe mentions Jayne "owes them" and more importantly her.

and yes, it's girl twins.

as always, if you have questions, just ask. please review.