“I'm grateful to you, Mal. The man who’s hurt is my foreman, and I can’t rightly run the place without him.” The man on the vidscreen was clearly more relaxed now.

Mal smiled. “That’s no problem. We’ll be with you in a few hours.”

Hammond returned the grin. “I think he can hang on that long. And I’ve got a new batch of brew I want your opinion on.” He laughed and cut the link.

“You think it’s a good idea, Freya going with Jayne?” Hank asked as Mal hung the link back up. “And us taking Simon?”

“They need a doctor.”

“Yeah, but so does Freya,” Hank pointed out, turning in his seat to look at the Captain.

“She ain't due for well over a week,” Mal said calmly. "And I don’t think I’m gonna tell her she can’t do that last bit of shopping she wants – all the arguing wouldn’t be any good for her or the baby.” He half-smiled. “And I've kinda got past the ‘getting Simon to knock her out’ bit.”

“If you’re sure …”

“Just get us into orbit, and I’ll let Freya know we’ll be away for the day,” Mal ordered.

“Yes sir,” said Hank, turning back to the controls.

Mal left the bridge and strode into the dining area, finding Freya sitting at the table, her head down. “You okay?” he asked, suddenly wondering whether Hank had been right after all.

She looked up at him. “Shiny,” she said, smiling. “Not particularly comfortable, but I guess that’s going to be the way for the next few days.”

He sat down next to her. “You sure you want to go down to Priam? I'm sure we can –“

“I need to get me a few bits. Just some stuff I need for when the baby comes, and some other stuff, and I don’t think anyone else can.”

“Frey, honey, what about Kaylee? She has –“

“Mal.” She smiled at him. “I’ll be fine.”

“I know that, but I have to take Simon with us: Hammond’s got a man who’s hurt. We’ll be gone twelve, maybe fourteen hours. You gonna be okay with that?”

She put her hand on his face, feeling the slight growth of beard pushing through the skin. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be waiting for yo