Title: The Gift

Rating: PG

Pairing: Mal/River

Disclaimer: All bow to the mighty Joss Whedon.

Summary: It's River's birthday, and she's feeling left out.

Notes: Thank-you to madjm for beat reading

On Earth-that-was there originated a saying: It never rains, but it pours.

The months after Miranda see her sweep into adulthood amidst a new world of running, fighting and deception that's not so much new as the same old, this time recycled with fewer players, harsher dives farther and farther from the core planets--and a whole new load of crime, interrupted by the occasional break in traffic to repair, reload and experience something that, in other circumstances, just might resemble a normal life.

Those times, it must be said, are few and far between. Moments of domesticity are such a rare thing that she wonders sometimes if the little mouse inside just mightn't be a bit scared of them.

If I grow too fast, I'll leave them all behind.

It happens during a spell such as this; just as River is holding the knife over her cake to mark her nineteenth year, Simon clears his throat and, with his hand grasping Kaylee's and his eyes flashing with a strange happiness, says shyly to the group that the pair of them have some news.

It's about an engagement.

Zoe's smile is genuine for the first time in months. "Congratulations you two," she says warmly, leaning across the table to kiss Kaylee. Jayne's mouth hangs open, and it's no longer for want of a slice of chocolate-iced protein. And though it really shouldn't be coming as a shock, it takes Mal whole seconds before he breaks into a grin and is up and out of his chair, simultaneously wrapping a one-armed hug around Kaylee while pumping the doctor's hand.

"So, you're finally gonna make an honest woman of my mechanic, Doc?" he shoots boisterously at Simon. It's not so much a question as a statement, and the young man's reply is lost under a sudden barrage of noisy and somewhat lewd congratulatory remarks courtesy of Jayne, and the c