A/N: So glad I've maintained a few fans for this series - your reviews are always very much appreciated :-) Not every part of this fic will be pure Rayne, as I do want to show what the rest of the crew are up to as well, but this one is all about River & Jayne (and a little bit of Simon!)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

2. Sickness and Health

"No, won't go in, not necessary"

River shook her head firmly, backing away up the steps, away from the medical room just as soon as it came into view.

"C'mon, River" sighed Jayne from the bottom step, grabbing her hand before she could bolt, "Is gorram necessary to see the Doc when you're pukin' up everythin' all over our bunk" he told her, just as strongly as her refusal to co-operate.

"Know why" she reminded him, insistent still, "Don't need second opinion" she tried to remove her hand from his, but his grip was tight and she knew she wasn't getting out of this without a fight that she didn't want to have.

"Ain't about the why, bao-bei" Jayne told her, begging her with eyes and words both to see sense here, "'S 'bout makin' sure you're okay, you and that little secret o' ours" he smiled just at the very vague mention of the child his wife carried.

"Won't be a secret if it's told" she rolled her eyes in response, looking like a grumpy teen as she stomped down the steps and stood right in front of him, albeit one step up the stairway.

"Hey, I ain't thrilled 'bout talkin' to your pansy ass brother about my business and you know it" her husband told her definitely, leaving go of her hand now he was pretty sure she wasn't running, "but if'n he can help ya..." he tried to explain, hands at her shoulders barely a moment before she shrugged them off and pushed past him.

"Tired of needles and pin and pills" she complained much more loudly, running her hands over her head and through the length of her hair as she paced some outside the medical room, "Thought it was all over" she complained, caught somewhere between anger, frustration, fear, and confusion.

A light went on in Jayne's head then as he realised what River's problem really was. It weren't nothin' to do with the baby she carried, or the family secret gettin' out, and everythin' to do with her spending more time than even he had in that medical room.

"So that's what you're fussin' 'bout" he shook his head as he moved towards, "Wuh di tyen, ah... River, ya can't never get sick" he told her, stopping her pacing by getting in her way and putting his hands to her arms, trying to see her face though she kept her eyes to the floor, "We all gotta see the Doc once a while, ain't nothin' to fret over" he told her,

"Not fretting" she said definitely, lifting her head so fast she very nearly smacked him in the jaw, "just... anxious" she settled on at length, "Body feels different, unsettled" she explained, an arm going across her stomach that did not get show sign of her pregnancy, yet she knew their baby existed, "Pleasant discomfort, foreign part of me" she frowned slightly as she looked back up at Jayne, "Disconcerting"

"Ya always do get to talkin' fanciful when you ain't happy 'bout somethin''" he smirked at her words, "but it don't make no difference, bao-bei..." he tried again to explain to her why seeing the Doc was so important, only to have the man himself appear and interrupt.

"River, Jayne" said Simon as he glanced between them from the medical room door, "Is somethin' wrong? Is it Daniel?" he asked, worry creeping into his tone at the thought of his nephew being hurt or sick.

"Daniel is flying, no problems" River shrugged her shoulders.

"The hell there ain't!" her husband practically exploded, the volume with which he suddenly spoke making River wince, since she was still stood so close to him, "Doc, you gotta talk some ruttin' sense into your gorram sister" he declared, leaving go of her and taking a step towards Simon, waving a hand emphatically.

"Well, if I could do that, she wouldn't be married to you, would she?" the Doctor said smartly with a smirk that only served to make Jayne more mad, as Simon ought to have known it would.

"Watch it, Doc!" the merc warned him, "I ain't in a jokin' place right about now"

"Sorry" said Simon quickly, turning away and heading over to sit down on the couch where River was now perched, "River, sweetheart, is something wrong?" he asked her, all full of brotherly concern, "Because you know you can tell me if there is"

"Nothing wrong" she assured him with a shake of her head and a smile so bright, "Everything right. Everything according to plan. Numbers add up, cycle has stopped, perfect cells dividing happily" she told him with apparent joy that caused Simon's mouth to drop open and close a couple of times as if he were imitating a landed fish.

"Uh" he looked dumbly at Jayne a moment, "she doesn't mean...?"

"Yep, sure does" he grinned proudly, "We gots us another little River or Jayne baking in there" he nodded, "'Ceptin' we didn't plan on spreadin' the news just yet. Trouble is your crazy ass sister won't ask you for help, even though she's like a damn puke cannon every sundown" he explained, not the least bit phased by River poking out her tongue at him for telling a secret she would have sooner kept.

"Ah, the ineptly named morning sickness" Simon nodded in understanding, even as a grin spread over his face, "Forgive me for putting my status as second time uncle ahead of doctor, but... congratulations, mei-mei" he hugged her, glad of her news, in spite of everything.

"Did not think you would approve" his sister told him as they parted, and Jayne came to sit on the arm of the couch beside her, "Sexual contact between husband and wife causes you discomfort" she said, her hand going absently to Jayne's leg beside her even now.

"Well, River, just because I'd prefer not to hear about the intimate details of your activities, I certainly don't expect you never to..."

"Doc!" Jayne interrupted Simon mid-yammer, "Quit ramblin' about me sexin' your sister, and get to the doctorin' part already, dong ma?"

"Yes, good idea" the Doctor swiftly agreed, encouraging River to stand up when he did.

"She is fine" she insisted, not loving the fuss right now, or the fact she was headed into the one room on Serenity that would never feel like home, and always like a prison she used to know, "Fine and..." she stopped short of saying whatever came next as the need to swallow hard accompanied a spin inside her head that quickly overtook her.

Jayne's strong arms held her steady, but nothing could stop the contents of her stomach ejecting itself spectacularly... all over Simon.

"That's my girl" chuckled Jayne, unable to help himself; Simon always tried to be so fancy and gussied up, the sight of him now was comical in the first degree.

"And yet very much still my little sister too" he declared, remembering more times than he cared to mention when he'd had to deal with this situation.

"Sorry?" River offered, looking appropriately guilty, but innocent as can be, as well as too pale for comfort.

"C'mon, babydoll" her husband told her, pulling her close and then up into his arms with ease, "Reckon best place for you is our own bed" he told her as he carried her towards the stairs, "We get you cleaned up, Doc can swing by later with somethin' to ease your troubles"

"Yes, indeed" Simon called behind them as he moved back towards the medical room, intent on getting himself cleaned up, "Get some rest, River" he told her, though she barely heard, her head rested on Jayne's shoulder as he carried her carefully through the ship towards their bunk room.

River felt like a princess to Jayne's knight in shining armour as he took her to their room, cradled into his body, the most precious cargo he could ever carry. In the privacy of their room he helped her take off her dress and get into bed, fetching her a glass of water and making sure she was comfortable.

Pulling up a chair to beside the bed, he sat down, intent on watchin' over her as long as she needed him. It reminded both of them of a time before marriage, when Daniel was first here, before feelings had been revealed and confirmed. In the medical room from where they'd just now come, her comatose and wounded, him sat beside her, willing her to pull through.

"Jayne-man is an enigma" River smiled then as she reached out to put her hand in her husband's own.

"How's that now?" he asked, pushing random strands of hair off her cheek and tucking them behind her ear.

"Fights, curses, stronger than all, then gentle, kind, sweet, and soft to woman he loves" she told him her own description of her Jayne-man, "Perfect husband, lover, father, man..."

"Ain't nobody perfect" he interrupted her, looking almost angry but then grinning out of nowhere, "but you keep on sayin' it if'n it makes you happy" he told her, making her giggle a moment.

All too soon she was serious again and he worried she was in pain or some such til she spoke.

"Wish I was as perfect" she said sadly, and though Jayne knew what she meant, he couldn't find a real fault with her, not his River.

"Perfect for me, that's all there is" he promised her, "Prettiest thing I ever saw in a dress, sexiest thing I ever saw outta one" he told her, glad to see her smile return as he continued, "Best Ma Daniel could ask for, best wife I could ever pick for me - and hell, if'n you ain't the best fightin' partner I ever got me too" he declared, a true honour for anyone to be told by such a man as Jayne Cobb.

"Perfect" River smiled proudly and gratefully both at her husband's fine description of her, "and four will be even more so" she said, as her arm slid across her stomach and her eyes fluttered closed, her body craving sleep.

"Reckon you're right, bao-bei" he agreed, leaning over to plant a kiss on her forehead, "Yeah, I reckon so"

- The End -