River had a secret.

Well, it wasn't her secret. It was Kaylee's secret, and Simon's. But they didn't know it yet. River had been keeping their secret for a week, since the anniversary of the day they'd met.

She'd known the second it happened, she'd felt the tiny spark of life ignite. Inara had attributed her giggling to the airy, flowered sundress she had been trying on at the moment. River hadn't bothered to correct her. It was their secret, not hers to tell. She could keep it, for a while at least. Probably until after the wedding.

Earlier in the day, she'd annoyed Mal on the bridge with her laughter and her refusal to tell him what was so gorram funny. She knew how he'd react if she told him, and she wanted to spare her brother the indignity of saying his wedding vows with Vera pointed at his back. She wanted Kaylee to have a proper wedding, without any of Jayne's crude jokes.

Fewer of Jayne's crude jokes, anyway.

It struck her as funny, how something so tiny could be such a big secret. It was nothing more than a tiny clump of cells at the moment. Tiny enough that even Kaylee didn't know about it, even though it was growing inside her a little more each day.

No, she would keep Simon and Kaylee's secret, let them find it out for themselves. For now, she would amuse herself with imagining her boob of a brother's face when he found out he was going to be a father.