FOUR MONTHS LATER

It had been four months since Regan’s funeral and River’s departure to pursue her music career and to take care of Gabriel. The first two weeks were the hardest on them. Waking up every morning wasn’t as fun as it was when River woke them with her music. Mal kept telling the crew not to act like she died, but he still felt a twinge of regret whenever they got paid, and he wasn’t putting money aside for his one time Greek choir. And as much as he’d deny it, Jayne was actually beginning to miss the little moon brain.

Not surprisingly, the ones who were having the hardest time dealing with River’s absence were Simon and Kaylee. The three of them were probably the closest together of all of them. And not having her around to serenade them acoustically and speak in lyrics left a slight hole in them. Kaylee felt like she lost her best friend, while Simon felt that he’d lost his purpose. This was the first time in his life where they went their separate ways for good. She didn’t need him anymore. And despite her weekly waves with info on Gabriel and her emerging career, he couldn’t help but feel that she was gone for good.

But after a while, the remorse gave way to acceptance and a continuation of the normal routine. It had been a busy nine months for Serenity and her crew since Blue Tuesday. And if Kaylee’s gasp in the dark silence of her and Simon’s bunk was any indication, it was about to get a lot busier.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Kaylee sat up, feeling a pressure from within her. She had been having Braxton/Hicks contractions these last few days, but these were more painful than before. “Simon?” She reached over and shook her sleeping husband. “Simon, wake up.”

“Mmmph. What is it?”

“It think this is it.” Kaylee felt another contraction from within her. When it stopped, she knew. “This is it...she's coming. What do I do?” She hopelessly looked at him for the answers. Simon realized what she meant by it and bolted up from the bed, wide awake. “Holy go-se. U