Part I

Jayne stared at the screen. He knew a lot about death, the places to hit to make dying easy, and more to make it hard, the way blood flew when a throat was cut just so, how a bullet through lungs bubbled … all this and more. He could’ve written a book on it. But this, looking at what happened, the sheer physical improbability of it …

“What’re you looking at?” Hank asked, stepping down into the galley.

“Huh?” Jayne was so engrossed in the portable Cortex link that he didn’t even try to hide it as the pilot looked over his shoulder.

“ Everything a father needs to know about pregnancy …” he read out loud.

The big mercenary belatedly put his arm across the screen. “Hey. Bug off. Private.”

“Not no more.” Hank grinned and strolled to the counter for a coffee. “’Sides, you’re glaring at a father here. There ain't one Cortex site you can think of I haven’t looked at.”

“Yeah?” Jayne was intrigued, despite himself.

“Sure. And I ain't the only one.” Hank dropped into the chair opposite, his mug in his hand. “I could show you the logs. Prove it.”

“Even the Cap?”

“He was worst of all!”

It had been a week since River had gone to see Simon, Jayne tagging along reluctantly.

“Only reason I’m going is to see the look on his face,” the big man avowed.

“I’ll keep him away from scalpels. Come on.” She took hold of his hand and pulled him into the infirmary. “Simon.”

Her brother looked up from some test results. “At last,” he said, smiling at Jayne.

“What?” Jayne muttered.

“You’ve got her to let me check her over.”

“I don’t need checking over,” River said, letting go of Jayne’s hand and hopping up onto the medbed.

“You don’t?” Simon looked confused. “Then this is a social call?”

“No.” She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. “Run the test.”

“Test? Test what?” Realisation came slowly, dawning like sunlight, only it turned into shock. “Are you saying … you’re … you and Jayne?” He couldn’t say anything else, his jaw working