I own nothing.

River watched Delly and Art as they stared at her and Jayne with a mixture of wariness and shock. The effort of keeping mental blocks up while their thoughts screamed at her tumultuously was beginning to give her a headache. Jayne placed a calming hand over hers under the table and gave it a light squeeze. River's gaze flitted over to Isaiah, who was sitting at the other end of the table staring down at his clean plate with a thoughtful expression.

In the course of telling the Wilkerson's and Isaiah about their past, Delly and Art's conflicting emotions had become more pronounced and she'd slipped back into using her "funny talk" as Jayne called it, but he had quickly taken over the storytelling for her and answered any questions he could. Now, having come to the end of it, there was nothing but silence from all parties involved. Nobody had spoken in over ten minutes and River was more than a little surprised by how patiently Jayne was awaiting the others' verdicts. Delly and Art alternated between staring between the two of them. Art looked confused and Delly somewhat fearful, but there was concern.

"Well," Isaiah rumbled out from the other end of the table, causing them to all turn and look at him in surprise. He glared at River from under his thick, bushy gray eyebrows. "You gonna gimme some a that apple tart fer dessert now 'er what? I'm still hungry, ya know."

Jayne and River both let out a whoosh of air, relaxing visibly. Art opened and closed his mouth a couple of times at the older man while Delly just gaped. River sent Isaiah a beaming smile and leapt from her chair to go and get him dessert. Jayne blinked at Isaiah for a moment before booming with laughter. River reappeared with two plates of apple tart, placing one in front of Jayne and the other before Isaiah. She bent and kissed Isaiah on the cheek. "Thank you. Your acceptance is much appreciated."

Isaiah grunted uncomfortably at the show of affection though the corners of his mouth tipped upwards slightly. "Yeah, well don't expect me ta go abouts clapping and hoorayin' at ya next times you kill someone."

She grinned at him lopsidedly as she headed back toward the kitchen. "I will expect a thumbs up."

Isaiah glanced over at Art and Delly as he cut into his apple tart. "You two gonna say anythin' 'er did the misadventures of Mr. and Mrs. Cobb shock you into a bout of stupidity?"

"So, you really weren't lyin' bout the whole crime thing an' all."

Jayne rubbed the back of his head and grinned boyishly at Art. "Naw, why would I lie about bein' a outlaw? An' while I ain't dumb, I ain't smart enough ta come up with a tale as crazy as the ones I got. I mean, you don't believe me, that's fine, but it's all happened."

River sat down beside Jayne and let out a long sigh. "We just want you to accept us. We didn't expect for everything that's happened since leaving Serenity to happen."

She bit her lip and looked down at the table. "We know it's asking a lot of you to just accept it and we understand if you can't, but it would be nice if you could."

Jayne cleared his throat and crossed his arms across his chest as he stared hard at the tabled. "We just don't want you thinkin' less of us 'er thinkin' we ain't good people. We think of you as...you know. Be awful hard to lose all that."

Delly nodded slightly. "I understand and...I think I'm okay with it."

She offered River a small smile. "You did what you had to do and I'd say what you have here is well worth the price you paid."

River smiled up at Jayne and squeezed his forearm. "I quite agree."

Jayne rolled his as at her, though grinning and hauled her chair closer to his. "Yeah, me too."

Susan came screaming into the kitchen just then. "Unky Jayne! Unky Jayne, Jacob an' Travis is pickin' on me! They won't let me play with them 'cause I'm a girl!"

She threw herself at Jayne, sobbing. "They never lemme do nothin' with 'em 'cause I'm a girl!"

Jayne turned her to sit in his lap and rubbed her back. "Well, what's bein' a girl got ta do with it?"

"She's supposed to like girly things," Jacob whined as he stomped into the the room followed by his twin, who was also stomping. He shot Susan a dark look. "Tattletale!"

Jayne cleared his throat and glared back at the two, causing their eyes to widened. Feeling his point had been made, Jayne turned his attention back to Susan. "I was thinkin' bout goin' fishin' tomorrow. Wanna go with me?"

She squealed excitedly, her brothers' mistreatment of her forgotten. "I never been fishin' before!" She turned to Delly, scrambling out of Jayne's lap to tug on her mother's sleeve. "Can I, Momma, can I? Unky Jayne says I can."

"Of course," Delly laughed and Susan jumped up and down singing, "I'm goin' fishin', I'm goin' fishin'!"

"Girls don't fish," Jacob and Travis yelled in unison. River rolled her eyes and began to clear the table. "I fish and I'm a girl."

"No, yer Aunt River," Travis argued, crossing his arms and snorting. Jacob glared at his brother. "If you're an Aunt that means you're a girl, Travis, so she's a girl."

"That ain't the point-"

"Yes, it is. If Aunt River fishes an' she's a girl, then that means girls fish."

"Well, maybe Aunt River is the only girl who's ever gone fishin'."

"Travis, there's a bajillion people in the 'verse! How would Aunt River be the only one that's ever gone fishin'?"

They watched the twins as if watching a tennis match as the two quickly became immersed in their own little argument. Travis glared at his brother in frustration. "It still don't mean girls is supposed ta fish!"

"So? Alotta people ain't supposed ta do stuff an' they still does it! What's ta stop a girl from fishin' if'n she wants to?"

"Well, boy ain't supposed to wear dresses an' we don't, you sayin' we should?!"

"No."

"Then maybe girls ain't supposed to fish."

"I've seen a boy wear a dress," Jayne snorted, "had a pretty floral bonnet, too."

Travis and Jacob both turned to look at him. Jacob scrunched up his face. "Was he soft in the head?"

Jayne grinned. "Highly possible he was."

River laughed as she set the dirty dishes in the sink and began to wash them. "Yes, Mal's sanity was questionable at best."

"That man got inta more trouble bein' dumb than we did bein' smart!" Jayne's eyes lit with amusement. "Like challengin' that fancy coreboy to a sword fight over Inara."

"But, Jayne, it's not a laughing matter, " River said in mock seriousness, turning toward him and pointing to her side, "he got stabbed. Right here."

Jayne slapped his leg and roared with laughter. Delly and Art couldn't help but smile. Art settled back in his chair. "Now, what's all this about?"

Jayne lifted Susan off his lap, gave her a swat and said, "Go play," before turning back to Art with a grin, "While me an' River got ourselves inta trouble bout as often as Bert winds up drunk in the cell, most of our trouble was 'cause of our Captain, Malcolm Reynolds."

"You're lying," River called to him from her station next to the sink. Jayne chuckled. "Okay, so really, Mal caused more trouble'n just most..."

Mal dusted himself and made a face as he stared off toward the town of Tree Gap. The town was literally a one road town with farms and ranches situated far outside of it. As he and the rest of his crew headed on down through the middle of town, someone was tossed out of the bar and into the street, several locals shaking their heads and frowning in distaste. The group side-stepped the prone man and turned off the street and headed toward the general store. They stopped outside and he patted Kaylee and Inara's arms. "You two, look around and have yerselves a grand ole time. Steer clear of the bar. Think it's gotten a little rough since we last been here."

"Really, Mal, I don't think it's right of us to just be expecting Jayne and his wife to put us up for an undetermined length of time without asking," Inara hissed. Mal glared before smiling and kissing her. "Well then it's a good thing you ain't Captain, now isn't it?"

Inara rolled her eyes and glared as she watched Mal and Zoe head toward the very bar he had warned her of. Mal and Zoe strolled in and took a seat at the bar, both ordering a pint. They both surveyed the crowd. No Jayne. While they were surpised, they were also relieved. It gave them a chance to think, plan what hadn't been talked about but once. Zoe was the first to speak. "So, how are we going to tell him? I'm not sure ordering him will work so well this time around, seein' as he don't work for you no more."

Mal ran a hand down his face as his first mate continued, "An' we ain't exactly plannin' on payin' him an' money's always been his language."

"Yeah, but I get the feelin' our ex-merc ain't the same cold blooded killer he was back when. I mean, knocked up whore'er not, he went an' done got hitched an' that ain't somethin' he woulda done when we knowed him."

"True," Zoe muttered into her mug as she downed half of it. Mal nodded and they huddled over their drinks, nursing them slowly. "What if he says no?"

"He won't," Zoe said knowingly. Mal rubbed his face again. Though he'd never admit it, he was beginning to feel old. They reluctantly pushed themselves up from the bar and slowly made their way back to the general store. Kaylee was dragging Simon to each aisle to look at various frivolous items while Inara studied several large bolts of fabric curiously. Mal and Zoe both purchased a box of ammo each and he asked casually as the clerk rang him up, "You wouldn't happen to know where I could find Jayne Cobb would you? Didn't see him in the bar."

The clerk snorted, "Hell, you won't never see him in there."

Mal raised an eyebrow and in answer, the clerk jerk his head to the left. "He's over at the Sherriff's office."

Mal rolled his eyes and smirked as they left the store. He snorted with laughter once outside. "I knew that hun dan wouldn't be able ta keep himself outta trouble even if he did go an' get hitched."

Zoe nodded and they headed down the dusty road. Inara, Simon, and Kaylee followed a few paces behind. When they reached the small jailhouse, there was woman with twin boys and a little girl standing on the steps talking to the deputy. They eyed the crew curiously. The deputy leaned up against the wall. "You needed somthin'?"

"Yeah, I'm lookin' for Jayne Cobb. I was tol' I could find him here."

The deputy nodded and turned to lean in the doorway. "Jayne, got some strange folk wantin' ta talk to ya!"

Mal could here the floorboards of the old jailhouse creak as Jayne lumbered toward the door. The minute he saw Mal, he stiffened and scowled. "What d'you want?"

Mal's smug smile faltered when he noticed both the deputy and the woman take up defensive stances. He stopped smiling when he noticed the Sherriff's badge Jayne was sporting. Even Zoe was staring at it with a bit of shock.

Mal cleared his throat. "Well, Jayne, Serenity ain't doin' too good an' we're in need of a place ta set down for a spell so's we can patch'er up good-"

"A place with someone who's gonna be dumb 'nough ta let you leech off 'em is what yer sayin'," Jayne muttered as he watched the woman and her three kids walk off toward the general store. Jayne nodded after her and then turned back to Mal. "No thanks."

"Jayne-"

"Look, Mal," Jayne snapped, "If I help you, it's only 'cause we was all crew an' crew looks out fer each other okay?"

He glared and stepped forward. Neither Mal nor Zoe made for their guns. If Jayne was Sherriff, shooting at him would be a big mistake.

"Now, 'fore I start helpin' you with anythin', we're gonna step up some rules yer damn well gonna follow."

Mal's jaw twitched and he fought to keep from tearing into the larger man. "All right."

"First off, you ain't in charge a me. This is my town, not yers, so what I say goes. Second, you'll be stayin' on the ship, you ain't settin' yerselves up in my house. I ain't got the room fer one, an' I don't think my wife would like it none. I'll make sure ya got what all's you need. But you come 'round 'er try an' foul up anythin' here in Tree Gap an' we're gonna exchange more'n words. Dong ma?"

Mal bit the inside of his cheek. "That all seems mighty acceptable an' I can assure you we ain't all that thrilled with havin' ta come ta you fer help so we're gonna stay as far outta yer way as we can."

"Good," Jayne snapped, stalking back in to the jailhouse. Mal glared at Jayne's back and turned to Zoe. "Might be some parts to be had a couple towns over."

Kaylee raised her hand. "Simon and I can handle it ourselves."

Mal nodded but added. "Take 'Nara with you. She's better at haggling."

Once Kaylee, Simon and Inara had departed, Zoe leaned close to Mal. "Sir?"

Mal tossed a glare over his shoulder at the doorway Jayne had gone through and said in a lowered voice. "He seem kinda tetchy ta you?"

"He did indeed, Sir."

Mal rubbed his chin. "I think maybe we oughta drop by the Cobb homestead soon."

"Don't sound like such a good idea, but," Zoe said with a small sigh, "I'm anxious ta see who roped Jayne into an 'I do'."

"Me too," Mal guffawed, "bet she's got some real fine qualities about her." He jestured in front of his chest and Zoe smirked. "I wanna know what idiot thought it was a good idea ta make someone as lowdown as Jayne Sheriff."

River was wading out in the small pond tossing bred to the ducks when Jayne returned home around noon after going into town to pick up another bin of spare parts and some special post his mother had sent him. From the other side of the pond, Sam splashed into the pond with an excited bark, startling the ducks and River. River shielded the spray of water with her arms as she shrieked, "Bad dog! Very, bad dog!"

Jayne could help but laugh as he sauntered out toward his wife. A gentle smile curved her lips as she tossed the rest of the bread to the ducks and stepped out of the pond and wrapped both her arms and legs around him. She kissed him soundly and whispered against his lips, "Morning."

Jayne kissed her softly before replying, "Morning, Baby."

River leaned back in his arms sighed happily. "I'm glad it's your day off."

Jayne raised a teasing eyebrow. "You gonna make me do a bunch a housework?"

River giggled and kissed his chin. "I don't know if you can call it housework."

Jayne laid one hand over the very slight bump on her abdomen, splaying his fingers. "Is it the kinda work that led to this?"

River gave him a playful smile. "Maybe."

He chuckled and gave her bottom a slight smack as he kissed her again. He pulled back slightly. "I got somethin' for ya, Baby. No readin' me either 'er it'll spoil it."

River's eyes lit up and she bit her lip, grinning excitedly. "Oh, Jayne, I love surprises!"

Jayne grinned back as he pulled the small box from his pocket. "Now, this belonged to my Great Grandma," he said as he handed it to her. River opened the tiny box and her eyes widened. His grin turned into a smile as he watched River slowly pull the ring out of the box and stare at it in awe. She slid it on to her ring finger and looked up at him in wonder. "It fits."

He nodded. "Yeah, my Great Grandma was tiny like you. And my Great Grandpa was crazy about her. They courted for over two and a half years 'cause he was savin' up on that ring to ask 'er. I mean, I know the rock on it ain't that big, but it ain't small neither."

"No," she said softly, biting her lip, "it's perfect. I'll wear it forever."

He glared at her playfully. "You better."

"Stop teasing and kiss me," she laughed, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Jayne dipped his head to give her a long kiss. When they pulled apart, River pecked him gently. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it," he said and she shook her head. "I love it."

"Good."

River smiled proudly at him. "How long have you been keeping a secret about asking your mother for this?"

Jayne let out a puff of air and gave her a lopsided grin. "Goin' on near forever it feels like."

She nodded sympathetically. "Interplanetary mail services are lack efficiency."

He kissed her cheek and River rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, yawning. "Being in the family way is exhausting."

"I bet," Jayne chuckled, as he set her down and helped her to sit in the green grass. He settled down beside her, stretching out and leaning back on his elbows. River tilted her head up to look at the puffy white clouds that slowly sailed across the bright blue sky. She turned back to look at Jayne. He was watching the ducks waddle around the edge of the pond with an amused expression. "I know animals have feelins' an' all, but do they ever think about how happy they are?"

"Sometimes," River replied, following his gaze, "but for some it's fleeting. Sam and wolf think about it all the time. So does Big Grey."

Jayne nodded and then looked up at the sky. River inhaled and exhaled deeply and rested her head in the middle of his chest. Jayne's hand came up to thread his fingers through her hair. "You know, we need to figure out a plan for how we're gonna build on to the house soon."

"I know." River nuzzled his chest and Jayne let out a humming sigh. "Thinkin' maybe in about two 'er three years. When they got a couple years on 'em. Till then, they can share a room."

"Very solid plan," River replied. "Until then, our home will be small and cozy."

Jayne fell back and cuddled River closer as he stared up at the sky. "You know, I don't miss the black. Not a bit."

He felt River nod against him and continued. "That-what we had up there was good, but..."

"This is better," River finished, lifting her head to look at him. His smile mirrored hers. "Book an' Wash would be proud."

"Yes, we've both grown up so very well," River snorted, and Jayne grinned at her. "Hey, now, it's true and you know it."

River shrugged folded her hand under her chin. "I can't help but wish they were here, but I know that if they were, none of this would be."

"Yeah, it ain't much of a fair trade," Jayne said in a quiet voice, rubbing his hands up and down River's arms, "just thinkin' on how Zoe must feel...busts me up somethin' fierce."

"Me as well," River answered in a somber voice, "unbearable."

"Yeah," he agreed, hugging her a little tighter. Something nudged the crown of jayne's head and he tilted his head back a bit to find Wolf laid out staring at him. He grinned and brought his hand up to rub behind the canine's ear. "Well, hey, Buddy. What you been up to?"

Wolf belly crawled closer and nosed Jayne's face. Sam attacked Jayne from the side without warning, licking him with wild abandon. "No, Sam, settle down," Jayne commanded halfheartedly. Sam flopped down and rested his head on Jayne's shoulder. Wolf let out a lazy growl as he flopped his head down on Jayne's other shoulder. Jayne rolled his eyes. "What is it with all a you? Do I look like some giant pillow?"

"Yes," River laughed and he tweaked her nose. River rubbed his chin with her thumb. "You're big and cuddly."

"Yeah," Jayne admitted, giving her a lopsided grin, "just don't go tellin' nobody."

River giggled. "Like anyone would believe you like to cuddle!"

Jayne shook with laughter. "This is true."

River laughed and leaned up as Jayne pulled her toward him, letting his lips slide over hers slowly. Jayne frowned in confusion when River pulled away suddenly, staring down at him with a similar expression. "Nonlinear thoughts are twining like vines around the tree of life."

Before Jayne could respond, Sam and Wolf were both on their feet growling and the familiar rumble of the mule approaching caused Jayne to turn. Jayne bit out a curse and felt River cringe into him as he watched the mule come to a halt. Without looking back at her, Jayne said in a calm voice, "Honey, I want you to go into the house through the back door and get on the cortex and wave Delly and Art. Take Sam with you."

River kissed his cheek quickly and stood, heading for the back of the house with Sam in tow as Jayne pulled himself up off the ground, his hand on the gun at his hip. Wolf stood at his side, the fur on his back standing straight up as he growled. Jayne barreled forward, every muscle in his body tense. Wolf kept pace behind him. Jayne's scowl deepened when he noticed that Mal had brought the entire crew. He silently cursed himself for being stupid enough to think Mal would have actually listened to him about steering clear of him.

Mal began to saunter forward lazily, a smug grin on his face, when Wolf stalked in front of Jayne protectively, teeth bared. Mal froze, leaning back slightly as his eyes widened. Behind him Kaylee sucked in a sharp break and Zoe let out a surprised "Whoa." While Jayne had seen his fair share of wolves when he was growing up, Wolf was one of the biggest he'd ever encountered. His back came up to just above Jayne's hip and they was he was snarling was terrifying. Jayne stared down Mal, raising an eyebrow when all Mal did was stare at him. "Thought I tol' ya ta stay on yer boat."

"Well, Jayne, ya see-"

"See what," Jayne snapped, "now I tol' ya, I'd help you out. Which I done, by bringin' by food an' a fair bit a coin. I held up my end an' yer still comin' 'round an' causin' a fuss!"

"A fuss," Zoe asked in a calm voice, "Jayne, we only came to visit-"

"Visit," Jayne exclaimed, letting out a bark of laughter, "no, what yer doin' is comin' out here to make me an' mine feel bad 'bout what happened way back when an' we ain't bitin'!"

Kaylee peeked out from behind Mal and Zoe at her place between Simon and Inara. "But Jayne, don't you miss us? Don't you miss Serenity?"

Jayne shifted his weight from one foot to the other and averted his gaze from the mechanic. "I miss a lot of things," he said before looking back up at her and adding, "but what I got now is better."

"Oh yeah," Zoe snorted, her lip curling up slightly, "and what have you got?"

"A hell of a lot more than the lot of you," Jayne retorted scathingly. Mal and Zoe glared at him. Mal spoke finally. "We ain't leavin', Jayne. So you can either shoot us all or let us in for a nice cup of coffee. It's up to you."

Jayne's glare deepened as he stared them down. He relaxed a fraction at the sound of hoofbeats on the dirt road leading up to the house. He didn't need to look to know it was Art and Delly. Mal and Zoe, however, did turn. Delly ushered her three children toward the house and Art came to stand next to Jayne. "Was hopin' I wasn't gonna have ta see you 'til dinner."

"Yeah, well, I'm a mite unpredictable," Jayne replied, calmly. Art snickered beside him before addressing Mal. "I ain't exactly clear on what yer business is here in Tree Gap-"

"That's 'cause it ain't yer business," Mal replied, cutting him off. Art glared at him. "Cobb business is my business. An' there are an awful lot of other folk from town what ain't here who'll say the same."

Jayne smirked at Mal's surprised look. "I made a few friends."

"So I see," Mal said through clenched teeth. He turned to look at Zoe, having sensed he had lost the high ground fairly early on in the conversation to confirm she was still planning on backing him up. She nodded her head imperceptibly and he turned back to Jayne. "Now, we only wanted ta come down an' see ya, you know, ta have a friendly chat," Mal said, in as calm and friendly as voice as he could muster with Art laughing and Jayne smirking at him, "an' maybe work out some of these...latent issues that done seem to have come up followin' certain occurances-"

"You mean you wanna butt inta my business an' make me feel all kinds of terrible," Jayne snorted, before rolling his eyes, "Fine, just stop talkin' at me."

He whistled at Wolf to gain his attention and then jerked his head in the direction of the house and Wolf loped off. Jayne sighed and shook his head. "She ain't gonna like this."

Art patted his shoulder and Jayne gestured tiredly for them to follow. "Well, come on an' let's get this over with."

Jayne stomped up the steps of the porch and threw open the front door, scowling. The living room suddenly burst into echoes of shrill screaming as the three Wilkerson children all cried, "Uncle Jayne" and stampeded him at the door, all talking at once.

"She's all mad an' cryin'" Travis said, followed by his brother saying, "don't want 'em here" to which Travis finished with, "why are they here?"

Susan tugged at his shirt frantically. "She's cryin' an' Sam an' Wolf are growlin' in a mean way an' you gotta fix it, Unky Jayne!"

"Yeah," the twins cried simultaneously. Jayne sighed, giving them all a rough hug. "Aw, she'll be alright. Once she calms down, the mutts'll calm down."

He gestured toward the small living room and glanced back at the shellshocked crew. "Have a seat an' don't go wanderin' about."

"Or he'll shoot ya," Jacob added meanly. Jayne smirked down at him and mussed his hair. Susan latched on to Jayne's side, gripping his big hand tightly as she followed him to the bedroom where River was sitting in the middle of the bed sniffling and rubbing her eyes. Delly was at her side, combing her fingers through River's long hair in a soothing manner. Sam and Wolf were both leaning on River heavily, alternating between growling and whining helplessly. River looked up at him with eyes flooded with tears. "Too much!"

Jayne sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and pulled her to him, letting her cry into his shoulder. "I know, Baby."

He smiled his thanks to Delly over her head, and Delly smiled back as she continued to rub River's back soothingly. Susan crawled up on the bed and hugged River around the waist. "S'gonna be okay, Auntie River. We're all here an' Unky Jayne won't let nothin' bad happen."

"The Squirt's right, Honey," Jayne reassured her, "I ain't gonna let them do nothin'. Yer stayin' put. All you gotta worry about is keepin' yer words straight an' when you can't do that, I'll straighten 'em out for you."

River pulled back and gave him a watery smile. "Personal interpreter."

"Yup," Jayne said smiling back at her, "you don't gotta worry about nothin'. Leave it all to me."

River shook her head. "No, we have to do it together."

Jayne nodded in agreement and River wiped at her eyes and took the tissue Delly offered her. She sniffed again. "I look awful."

"I think you look prettier than ever," Jayne said with a small smile.

"Me too," Susan exclaimed. The little girl watched River sniffle and said in a solemn voice, "I can kick 'em if ya want, Auntie River."

The three adults burst into laughter and River shook her head. "No, I'll be okay. I just need to calm down."

Delly patted River's back once before slipping off the bed and taking Susan by the hand. "We'll go make you some tea."

"Thank you," River said in a quiet voice as Delly smiled back at her and closed the door. River looked up at Jayne, her brow furrowed as she scowled and shook her head. Jayne mirrored her expression and shook his head as well. He wiped the remaining tears from her face and kissed her nose. "You gonna be okay?"

She nodded against his shoulder and he rubbed her back more. She sniffled again. "What if they try to-"

"Hey," Jayne said softly, cupping her face in his large hands, "I'm gonna be right there with you. Like I said, you don't gotta worry about nothin'. They try anythin', I'll let Susie kick 'em an' then I'll shoot 'em some."

River kissed his shoulder and scooted closer to wrap her arms more securely around his neck. "There is a high probability that yelling will occur," she warned. Jayne chuckled slightly. "One a them is always hollerin' 'bout somethin'."

River let out a small laugh and Jayne kissed her temple. "You ready, Baby?"

She sighed and stood, saying, "So much for the housework."

Wolf and Sam hopped down after her, sandwiching Jayne and River. Jayne and River both inhaled sharply and he muttered before opening the door, "Well, here goes..."

River clutched at his hand desperately as she moved to stand slightly behind him. From their position in the doorway they could see the crew of Serenity all sitting in uncomfortable silence on the couch and chairs. They were all staring at the dinosaurs on the mantle of the fireplace; some in shock, others in outrage. Art was leaning against the wall watching them out of the corner of his eye as he stared into the kitchen at his wife and listened to Travis and Jacob argue again about girls and fishing.

"Momma said she's gone fishin'!"

"She also said she weren't no good at catchin' anythin'."

"Just 'cause you ain't good at somethin' don't mean you can't 'er shouldn't do it!"

"Does, too!"

"Does not!"

"Does, too!"

"Does not!"

"If you can't shoot a gun, you prolly shouldn't be in a position to try!"

"You shot Uncle Jayne in the leg an' you still try ta shoot things proper!"

"I didn't mean to!"

"Don't matter!"

"Does, too!"

River leaned into Jayne side is whispered in a hushed voice, "Just think, in a few years, we'll get to hear that everyday."

Jayne couldn't help grinning at the thought. River smiled up at him, relaxing a bit. Jayne turned back and they took a few steps towards the crew, clearing their throats simultaneously. Serenity's crew focused on Jayne as a whole before shifting focus to River. Once the shock of seeing his sister wore off, Simon was on his feet and clutching her to him. "River," he exclaimed, "we've looked everywhere for you!"

River hugged him back, squirming out of his grip when he held on for too long. "It's nice to see you, Simon."

Simon turned to look at Jayne. "Where in the 'verse did you ever find her?"

Both River and Jayne frowned. River rolled her eyes and rested her hands on her hips. "I was never lost, Simon."

Kaylee jumped up from her place on the couch and threw her arms around River. "Oh, River," she cried excitedly, hugging her, "it's so good to have you back!"

River, who had been hugging her, stiffened and pulled away. "Back?"

"Back," Jayne repeated. River looked up at her husband and reached out to touch his arm. He turned to look at her and she smiled at him briefly before turning to face them. "I'm not coming back to Serenity."

"What?" Kaylee looked confused, more so than the rest of the crew. Zoe, who had continued to stare at the dinosaurs after first seeing River, finally turned with narrowed eyes toward the pair. Mal clenched his jaw and blinked at River. "River," he began in a warning voice. River glared back. "Not leaving. I'm staying here with Jayne. He never left me."

"River,"Mal said, slowly and Jayne cut him off, "You heard her, Mal. She's stayin' here."

Mal jerked his finger at Jayne accusingly. "Jayne, you ain't got no say in crew business."

"River ain't crew," Jayne argued back. Mal stepped closer. "She wasn't all there when everythin' happened. So none of that was her fault."

Mal stumbled back when River struck him across the face hard. "Don't you dare blame him for Miranda! We all chose to go. All of us!"

River was screaming and crying in hysterics as they all stared at her in shock. "The Operative is responsible for Book's death."

She turned to Zoe. "Wash chose along with the rest of us to go to Miranda. He chose to see it to the end and he did-even though he died, he helped to make sure it got through." She stared each of them down. "I don't remember any of you running toward the Reavers to pull Zoe back when she broke the line or talking to me and listening when I broke down afterwards. So don't try blaming him for this. He did his job. I did my job.

"And what did we get for it?! Blame. It was my fault because I didn't see all of it, his fault because he couldn't keep them from dying. So, you left us alone, feeling guilty about not being able to do things beyond our control. It wasn't fair. We didn't do anything wrong, but you punished us. That's why we left."

River took in a ragged breath and rubbed at her tear stained face, shooting another glare at a very shellshocked Mal. "And now, I'm upset, I hope you're happy."

Then she was crying into Jayne's chest as he rubbed her back, all the while staring at Mal with the meanest scowl the Captain had ever seen. "Think maybe this conversation's done."

"I think maybe it ain't," Mal shot back obstensibly. Jayne's scowl deepened and Inara placed herself between the two men.

"River," Inara said slowly, in the most calming voice she could muster, "maybe, after you've had time to consider it, say a day or two, you'll come understand why it would be good to come back home."

"I am home," River sniffled against Jayne's chest, "I'm staying here with Jayne. Our living arrangements have been permanent for a very long time and neither of us wishes to alter them."

Jayne couldn't help but grin and had to turn away to hide it. River's hold on him tightened and he tightened his arms around her as well.

"River, I'm sure Jayne would understand if you wished to come back."

"I don't want to. I'm happy here." She was beginning to sniffle hard again and Jayne sent Inara a look. River pulled away from Jayne slightly. "The tea is ready."

Without another look at the crew, she led Jayne to the kitchen to sit down. However, the crew followed, Mal continuing to pick at them. "River, now, you need someone to look out for you, an' you ain't all there sometimes."

"She's fine," Jayne snapped, pulling out a chair at the table for her, "she ain't been on meds since leaving Serenity an' she ain't gutted nobody or nothin'."

"You said you didn't know where River was last time we was here," Mal yelled at the former mercenary. Delly placed a cup of tea in front of River and rolled her eyes so only she could see. Jayne rolled his eyes as he pulled out his own chair and sat down. River finally looked up at Mal. "You asked if he knew where River Tam was and he said he hadn't seen her since he had first gotten here. He didn't lie."

"How is that not lying?!" River turned to focus on her brother, who was now just as exasperated as Mal. She bit her lip and turned back to Mal. "Wrong surname. I'm River Cobb, not River Tam."

Mal gaped for a moment. "You got married?"

A/N: Sorry for not having posted sooner, but my computer died on me and took everything I had written with it. So, in re-writing this chapter, I ran into some problems. One being, how long it was. In the process of re-writing this chapter I ended up with way more and subsequently, I had to cut it in half. Lucky for you, it lengthens the story as it's quickly coming up on the end. However, I really do think this version turned out better than the original as the original seemed lacking. There was too much explaining going on, too much talking about what had happened, so this is way better in my opinion.

I had planned on writing another part in this series focused solely on Mal and the crew and their finally coming to terms with Miranda but figured it would be best if I did so, by lengthening their interactions with Jayne and River. But I'm still toying with the idea of doing a couple of follow-ups to this...depending on if I'm up to it or not. But if I do write another part it will be a long time in coming and it will quite possibly have less of the crew than this one does. "Alone" and "Raising the Dead in Me" are very different from one another and I'm not sure if I want the third part to be different or similar.

And I'm not telling my reasoning behind the name of the series (or what it means specifically) until I finish this part at least.

yeah, that's pretty much all I have to say.