"Nice ta see a lady doc around these here parts."

Tasya glanced up from fixing an IV line. She had told the surgeon to rest, she would take the morning and noon post-op rounds.

Jayne gave a grin that was all too wolfish. His massive frame leaning against the bookcase as his stomach growled for bacon and congee but his eyes were pinned to the new piece of tail.

"Really." She went back to work.

"Our doc don't got sucha nice bedside manner." He announced, hat in his hands whilst the sound of Hershel cooking a late breakfast filled the morning air.

"Your doctor's more qualified." She pointed out, changing a drip medication with the scent of bacon sizzled not too far away filling her nostrils.

"That don't mean nothin'."

"I'm pretty sure it does."

"Well he's clumsy fingered."

"Doubt that, considering he's a trauma surgeon."

"Ain't purty like'a peach blossom." He stretched his lips out to show his pearly white teeth.

"Did he part his hair?" A drowsy, medicated Virgil asked as his glassy eyes studied the cowboy, all dressed for work with an extra bit of finesse to his look.

The hero of Canton slid him a sideways look that meant shut up.

Giving a polite, forced smile, she cleaned up her bag of supplies and veered from Jayne. "Excuse me."

Jayne frowned as she opened the door to Zoe's room and slipped away. "Gorram." He mumbled under his breath.

Shuttling the door as quietly as possible, she turned to find Zoe wide awake, sulking on her bed. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Zoe announced quite laconically, her back rigid against the headboard.

"Didn't sleep?" Setting the bag on the nightstand, Tasya unzipped it, opening to display medication and equipment.

"Used to getting up early." With a bored sigh, she held out her arm as it was wrapped in a blood pressure cuff.

"If you want you could get up and help me make my rounds." Pressing the button on the cuff, it whirred and filled with air as Tasya flipped Zoe's file open (she and Simon had filled them out for each patient) and took a pen out. "It's something to do, I could use a hand with the guys I'm seeing next."

"Sorry for soundin' so negative, Dr. Foley, but it sounds like pity overstepping it's reach."

"You mistake empathy for pity."

"You're saying you're empathetic?" Dark eyes were trained on her physician.

The cuff stopped, and beeped.

"Not to everyone..." Reading the results projected she jotted them down. "not your giant sized cowboy."

"But me?" Zoe questioned, her tone solid, not to be toyed with. "You understand me?"

"To some degree." She took out the scanner and prepped it.

"Because you read my mind?"

"Doesn't take a mind reader to see his Hawaiian shirts and toys." The female doctor exclaimed, ignoring the sudden mix of shock and defensiveness.

"Don't think you wanna go there."

"Wasn't going to go any further." she reassured, not backing down and apologizing like before "Now hold still, deep breath in and hold it..." As the scanner worked, the door opened.

River floated inside, two cats at her heels. Hair long, wild and curling about the plains of her face. "Finish with Zoe, then come to the kitchen." She ordered.

Tasya furrowed her brow.

"It's time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I missed this."

Kaylee chuckled as she propped her chin up on his chest, petting his chiseled abs. "What?"

"The bed." Simon announced lazily, stretched out and joining his wife to be in nakedness. "I don't know how long I've been up, but I missed the aspect of sleep."

"Me too." Kaylee kissed the spot between his pectorals rather affectionately, wiggling her fingers against his skin. "Good to sleep in some."

"You know what else?"

"What?"

"No cat."

His bright smile made her laugh into his skin, trailing off into childish giggles.

"I'm serious! Now that River's home York no longer feels obligated to sleep curled around my feet like a pair of fuzzy socks. It's rather liberating." A hand fell through her hair, separating the strands. "Also, it's off putting when he watches us." It was one of the most uncomfortable aspects of having a pet in the room. Simon would be enjoying his union with Kaylee, only to look over to find a huddled ball of fur on the dresser, watching him, almost scornfully with his little ears back and his tail fluffed so.

"I love you." Kaylee announced, a drowsy lilt to her tone.

"I love you too." He kept running his fingers through her hair, thoughtfully, lovingly. "We make a pretty good team too, you manning the cybernetics, I installing them."

"Would be awful shiny if we went around and did that huh? I mean it's not shiny people lose their body parts and all..." She corrected, somewhat meek, though re-entering her sunshine. "But us, marryin' our two jobs into one. I make the new parts or fix them up and you put the patient all together."

"If I weren't a possibly wanted man, I'd do that in a heartbeat with you." He smiled, warmly. "We'd be quite the team."

"Already are a team." She reminded, though her stomach interuppted their moment of solitude with an upset growl for sustinence.

Simon looked down, his head titling slightly.

Kaylee giggled, clasping a hand over her tummy. "Sorry."

"No, no." He chuckled, sitting up and stealing a kiss. "I'll go scrounge up something for both of us." Leaving the bed, he pulled on some trousers as Kaylee sunk into his spot, where it was still warm and molded for his frame. Pulling on an undershirt, he smoothed his ravenged hair out and opened the door.

River was there, with Boston on her shoulder.

"Um, is everything alright?" He asked, Kaylee behind him wrapping herself in a teal flannel sheet that had dancing polar bears against the green blue.

"It's time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mal chuckled.

"Ahhhhhhh." Meilin announced, quite loudly as she was being held up by Inara. Standing there on the mattress, she reached demandingly for her father. "AHH!"

Night had brought welcome sleep for the family, and they had hardly left the room. Mal was stubborn though, and hadn't stayed in bed completely as ordered. He had retrieved breakfast (toast he had made with some jam) for Inara before she awoke fully, and had hobbled into the bathroom to talk to Inara as she and Meilin shared a warm bath that made them both smell like summer cherries. With mother in a red silk robe, and babe in a yellow onesie, they were enjoying some time together.

"My goodness, I think she likes you a little." Inara mused as he reached out and took the squirming, playful child. Meilin had been bright eyed ever since her breakfast. She had splashed in the tub and crowed happily at her mother's various Chinese and Arabic songs.

"Just a little?" Mal raised her over his head.

Meilin squealed as his fingers tickled her ribs.

"Just a little huh?" He brought her down and nibbled her precious little leg. Listening to a peal of laughter. "I think it's more than just a little."

"Do you ever think what she'll call us?" Inara mused, reaching over and taking button sized toes in a hand to make their daughter giggle with delight.

"You mean like Ma, Pa? Mommy, Daddy?" He set Meilin on his good leg and picked up a toy, the patchwork buffalo. "Why?"

Inara shrugged her shoulders, though still retailing grace with the gesture. "I think of it and just know I don't want her to call me what I called my mother... which was mother."

"Then what shall she call you?" He waved the toy in front of her, making it look like it was dancing.

"I've been thinking, going through English, Chinese, Arabic." A smile came through as Mal began to make sound effects with the buffalo. "I'm fond of Amah."

"Amah?" He mused before letting out a buffalo low.

"It's Arabic for mother." She explained.

"What's Arabic for Pa?"

"Aby."

"Aby, I like that." went back to dancing the buffalo.

"Wait, why do you get to be called Aby?"

"Cause... She'd get.... linguistically confused; an Arab Amah, an English Pa and a Chinese name? If I was her size I'd get confused as... heck." He saved himself from a swearing faux-pa in front of their little one. "Plus Pa or any variation of it makes me sound old. I ain't a Pa, I'm an Aby."

"So, I get to call you Aby now?"

"Well..."

There was a rap at the door.

Inara drew in a deep breath and fixed her robe, which had slid open to reveal more than the appropriate amount of cleavage. "I'll get it." Sliding out of bed, she left Mal and Meilin there with the buffalo dance and opened the door.

It was River.

"It's time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Time for what?" Simon asked as he buttoned his waistcoat and came down the stairs, Kaylee following in coveralls and a fuzzy sweater, Mal hobbling down in his usual suspendered fare and Inara in a dress with Meilin on her hip.

They all paused at the bottom of the stairs.

Tasya stood pensively by the table, where the two small children sat and colored on pieces of scrap paper.

Simon's face drained of color.

"What the..." Mal barged down, with Kaylee and Inara following. "River who are these?"

Simon stood, focusing on the boy. The hair, the eyes.

"Inara, can you watch them?" River probed. "We need to talk."

"Of... of course." She stammered, heading over.

Meilin saw the small newcomers and eyed them suspiciously from her perch, wrapped up loosely in a warm pashmina shawl that was tied around Inara's waist.

Inara stood behind the boy and girl, setting her hand on the soft mop of hair the boy had, and looking to Mal in hopes he would find out what was going on. The days had been so hectic she had forgotten about seeing the children, though now her suspicions had returned.

"Going to Serenity." River told them.

"But..." Kaylee kept on looked back and forth from the children to her friend. "What's..."

"Answers when we get to Serenity."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mal just about lost all trail of thought when he saw him waiting in the cargo bay.

The Operative bowed his head slightly in respect. "Malcolm Reynolds."

"Shen me yang de xing qi shi zhe..." He muttered "I thought I said I'd take pleasure in dropping you if we ever ran into one another." The rest was said with a growl as the captain's blue eyes were frosty.

"No killing folk." River told him. "He brings something of great importance."

Mal seemed to have the hairs at the name of his neck standing on end. Though injured, he had the demeanor of a tomcat seeing an old foe driven off of territory. Taking a deep breath, his eyes narrowed and he stalked past the Operative, Simon and Kaylee following.

As the three with the explaining to do brought up the rear, Tasya turned to them. "I'd... I'm not ready to say what my part in all this is." Her eyes cast down, focusing on her boots. "If you wouldn't mind not mentioning me...."

"I understand." He told her softly.

"Secret's safe." River nodded her head in compliance.

*** *** *** DEFINTIONS/TRANSLATIONS Shen me yang de xing qi shi zhe: What kind of week is this... *****As always, the writer appreciates all comments whether they be positive, negative, or suggestions.**