strawberries and layer-cake dresses

"Simon won't tell us," Mal says to Jayne, a little irritably, shooting the doctor a glare that implies he should speak up very soon.

"There's nothing to tell!" Simon insists.

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"Prolly just got caught nailin' lil Kaylee and don't wanna admit it," Jayne says with a shrug. But he doesn't move on.

He wants to see what goes down.

Kaylee just sits there trying not to be nauseous. She looks rather queasy, actually. Too much nerves and morning sickness, probably.

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"Okay!" Simon says, raising his voice. It's very loud, in the small room. "This is my infirmary-"

He doesn't get further than that before Mal shoots him a look, saying firmly, "Last time I checked, it was my ship."

Simon ignores him and goes on, "This is my infirmary, and right now, you're all upsetting Kaylee. I want everyone to leave, right now or I swear the next one of you that gets shot will be left bleeding."

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morethangifted.livejournal.com

River isn't worried. Considering she rarely gets shot, anyway, and that she highly doubts Simon will go through with that threat, even if it's Jayne who gets shot next.

In fact, she completely ignores Simon to fix a wide-eyed gaze on Kaylee, realizing that something about the unfamiliarity is a little familiar.

There's a question in that look, but I wouldn't even try to put it into words.

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"No need t'get tetchy, Doc," Jayne grunts. "Just asking."

Kaylee, meanwhile, has locked eyes with River. Curious, wide-eyed River who's asking with her eyes whether or not she's guessed right.

"I'm pregnant," she says, oh so very faintly. Jayne, thankfully, doesn't hear.

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Mal, unfortunately, does hear. "What?" he says, a little too loudly. "I'm sorry, you're what? We can't have a baby on this boat, and you, Kaylee, oughta know that."

"Mal..." Simon says, his voice a little tight. It's not often Simon gets truly dangerous. This may be one of those times.

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"She's what?" Jayne asks, his jaw dropped.

Somehow, he has no lewd response to this.

"I know, Cap'n," Kaylee says faintly, head down, hands twisted together. She's ready to start crying, not that Mal can see it with her head down so low.

He might recognize the tone, though.

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"And you and the doc didn't think this was a possibility?" Mal demands, his rant going on for a second more before he recognizes Kaylee's tone and stops. Simon's still glaring at him.

"Will you leave now? Please." It's not really a request, despite the "please". Just once, Mal might overlook what he once said about Simon giving orders on his boat.

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Jayne normally wouldn't care about Simon. But he's sort of a secret marshmallow when it comes to Kaylee (not that it's immediately obvious). He quietly disappears into his bunk.

River smiles a little, knowingly, and wanders out dreamily.

Kaylee just sits there silently, fighting the urge to throw up again. Mal's upset with her, they can't have a baby on the ship, she screwed up.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, somewhat desperately.

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Mal glances from Simon to Kaylee and back, and decides he's not quite ready to leave. He steps forward carefully, tilting his head a little to try to catch her eye. "Kaylee. I'm... sorry. It'll be okay, xiao mei mei."

Simon shifts a little unhappily, glaring at Mal and rather wishing he'd leave. But when the initial order didn't work so well with Mal, he doesn't hold out hope for a second doing the job.

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"I didn't mean for it to happen, Cap'n, it's my fault, I'm sorry." She can't bring herself to look up. "I'll... I'll deal with it, it won't be a problem..."

Except that she's not sure she wants to. But if it's a choice between being a mother and being on Serenity... Well, it's not really a choice.

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"Kaylee. We'll talk about this later, got plenty of time." He leans in to kiss her forehead, a silent reassurance that everything will be alright, one way or another. Really, he couldn't kick Kaylee off the ship, not in a million years. "Let the doc take care of you, dŏng ma?"

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Kaylee looks up at him with a couple of tears streaked down her cheeks. "You ain't mad?" she asks hopefully. If Mal isn't mad... things'll be okay.

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He shakes his head. "No, I'm not mad. Just a little startled, 's all."

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"Yeah." Kaylee tries to smile a little. "Me too." She swallows hard.

She really isn't ready for this. "Cap'n, can we..." she looks at him pleadingly. She and Simon need some time alone to talk about this.

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"Yeah. 'Course. Anything you need, you come talk to me," Mal says before drifting out. He's probably going to go sit on the bridge for a while and stare at the black. If River's up there, so much the better.

Simon breathes a soft sigh of relief once he's gone. It had been feeling a little claustrophobic in here, even with just him, Kaylee and Mal.

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"He's right," she says quietly. "Can't have a baby on the ship. Throws a wrench in the workin's."

And god, it hurts to admit that.

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"The crew can... adjust," Simon says, a little helplessly.

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Kaylee looks down again. "I don't know what to do with a baby, Simon. I'm a mechanic, I'm just a workin' girl, and I ain't got the time or the money to deal with a baby!"

Maybe she's exaggerating a little, but not much.

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He steps forward, gently places his hands on either side of her head, and leans forward so his face is close to hers. He's kind of hoping it will calm her down a little. "Kaylee. It is much too early to be worrying about this."

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She looks up, into his eyes, her expression scared and confused and uncertain. "It ain't?" she asks softly. Hopefully even. If it's too early to worry about this, she has time to get used to the idea before she has to worry.

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"Yes." He smooths her hair lightly. "You should... go lie down. In our bunk. I'll clean up in here, and then I'll catch up with you."

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"Okay," Kaylee says, and smiles weakly. She gets off the chair and walks to the doorway, avoiding the mess on the floor. She hesitates for a second and turns back.

"It is gonna be okay?" she asks.

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Simon smiles. This time, he manages to make it look like he's not slightly terrified. "Yes. It is."

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