Her body was a nubile, flexible piece of artwork that never failed to fascinate him whenever the need for her special abilities presented itself. While he hated the thought of her putting herself in danger, he couldn’t help but watch in awe every time she fought as she twisted her body in ways no other human could, as she kicked, stabbed, and destroyed her opponents.

And she had only turned nineteen the other day.

Now, as he watched her in the yellow sundress Simon and Kaylee had bought her for her birthday, he couldn’t believe that this serenely smiling raven haired beauty was the same deadly weapon that the Alliance had created.

“Sir?” The tone suggested that this wasn’t the first time Zoë had tried to get his attention.

“Huh?” Tearing his gaze from River Tam, Mal Reynolds looked down at Zoë Washburn, his second-in-command and closest confident. It’d taken her a long time to get over Wash’s death on Miranda, but lately the shine had returned to her eyes, and she seemed more like the soldier with whom he’d fought with in Serenity Valley.

“Congratulations.”

Blinking, he frowned, wondering what she was talking about.

An amused expression entered those dark eyes. “Today’s job is the twentieth consecutive one which we’ve completed without you being shot—stabbed—beaten up--.”

His hands shot up. “Okay, okay, I get it!”

Zoë smirked openly while Jayne, who’d been nearby, guffawed with laughter.

Sending a glare at the mercenary, Mal tried to look nonchalantly in River’s direction, and frowned when he realized that she wasn’t there anymore. Without giving Zoë or Jayne another thought, he stormed out of the room, looking around, frown darkening as he searched for his little Albatross---who wasn’t so little anymore.

“They’re going to be parents.”

Freezing in mid-step, Mal looked straight up and saw his query half hidden in one of the many hiding places she had on Serenity. “What’s that?” He asked, glad that he’d learnt early on during their coexistence to block her mind-reading ability---