It had been three days since…Sweet Jesus, had it been that long?

For those 72 hours, Mal hadn’t shaved or bathed, or even changed clothes. He just didn’t have the energy. Neither had he slept. He’d tried it once and dreamt that none of those past three days were actually real. Scared him so badly when he woke up and found it was all true, he decided that he was better off not trying again.

His foot absently nudged the small wooden cradle at the foot of the bed. Jayne had made it for Carly. When she outgrew it, Jayne had repainted it pale blue in anticipation of the new arrival, even before the doc was sure.

“Got yerself a pretty girl to spoil, so this one is gonna be a boy. I just got that feelin’.”

But there the cradle sat, empty, because Mal couldn’t bear to look upon his newborn son without remembering all the blood and tears, and the doc lookin’ all worried, and Zoe forcibly making him wait until Inara had been all cleaned up before letting him say his goodbye.

“Sir, just give the doc a minute to make her presentable.”

For the first time he could remember, he came within an inch of actually hitting Zoe – never the mind that she woulda dropped him in an instant and not batted an eyelash – even though he knew she was right. He’d seen far too much blood on people for whom he cared far too much. Seeing it on Inara would have been his undoing.

And then there had been him having to explain it to Carly. Carly, who had been so excited at the prospect of a baby brother, even though Mal suspected she was not yet old enough to understand the difference between a real baby and her beloved dolly. He’d sat on the floor of the shuttle with her, as she shoveled an entire packet of protein mash into its mouth, cajoling it to “open the cargo bay doors.” Mal was just glad that it wasn’t her kitten, Miko, she was trying to cram a spoon into.

She’d held up the dolly, protein mash smeared all over its face and in its hair, not unlike his own first attempts to feed Carly, before figuring out it was just easiest to strip to his skivvies beforehand. She proudly exclaimed that she was practicing “being a good big sissy for the baby.”

A deep breath, and then he told her the truth. That her mama was with the angels and she’d have to be so brave and strong because her mama woulda wanted that. Things he himself wanted to believe, but couldn’t. She’d looked at him, with a face that was a miniature of Inara, with his same blue eyes.

“It’s OK, Daddy. Mama will wait for us. Then she’ll get to see the baby.”

Kaylee and River had taken charge of Carly, Miko and the baby after that, thinking that Mal just needed space. Thing was, he didn’t want space. Inara had filled up all those empty spaces.

Zoe’s soft knock interrupted his thoughts. She held a softly squirming bundle that Mal could only presume was his son. His son who didn’t even yet have a name. He and Inara hadn’t decided on a name.

“Mal, what about we name him after your father?”

Mal’s face had darkened a bit at that notion.

“Only thing that sumbitch ever gave me was my middle name. Our son deserves better.”

And they had hemmed and hawed, sometimes threatening each other with completely ridiculous names for their child.

“How about Ebenezer? That’s a mighty fine name!”

“Mal, I am not going to name our son after some story from Earth-that-Was about an old miser!”

“Well now hold on there, darlin’. I knew a fellah by that name back on Shadow. Right nice guy, too, except for the hunchback and the squinty eye…”

Except then things happened before they were supposed to and no name had been picked.

Zoe held the baby out toward Mal.

“Sir, I think it’s time you met your son, proper. He’s been very good about waitin’ to meet his Pa.”

Mal regarded the baby, with a shock of dark hair that stick out every which-a-way, like his Ma had shown him in his own baby pictures. Too early to tell, but he wondered if the baby would have his and Carly’s eyes, or Inara’s.

“Well hey there, little man. Sorry it took me so long to introduce myself. And I suppose you’ll be needin’ a proper name, now won’t ya?”

He looked up at Zoe as he rocked the baby.

“Derrial. Derrial Wash Reynolds.”

“It’s a fine name, Sir.”