A/N: So, the last chapter was filled with fluff and this one was a decent amount as well ... here's hoping you like it!

Thanks again to all who read and respond - this is such an awesome group of not only dedicated fans, but fun people and I love it!

And of course, thanks to Leiasky, who convinced me to go to Flan and reminded me that maybe moving to California wouldn't be so terrible ... thanks man!

***

A NEW DAY, ch. 27: Under One Roof

***

River trounced down the stairs and into the kitchen, banging the now empty tray of food she carried onto the counter and turning to Kaylee with a fire in her eyes. Looking up to her sister from where she was preparing supper, Kaylee cocked an eyebrow at her and asked, “Problem, sweetie?”

Crossing her arms over her chest, River pointed above her head, indicating where her husband was currently prone, still recovering from his first surgery two weeks ago and muttered, “That man is such a whiner.”

Suppressing the chuckle that immediately rose to her lips, Kaylee turned back to the vegetables she’d been cutting so River couldn’t see how amused she was. “That a fact?” she asked quietly, watching out of the corner of her eye as River came to stand beside her at the sink, cleaning Jayne’s dishes with relish.

“I mean, it’s his shoulder, not his back or his legs, and he’s complaining like he’ll never walk again,” River continued to complain, only causing Kaylee’s eyes to water with the giggles she was trying so hard to contain. Finishing her washing, River wiped her hands on a dishrag and turned to Kaylee, saying, “You know, he likes to pretend he’s big and tough, but he’s really just a big baby,” and with that last word she balled up the towel and threw it across the room where it landed in a heap on the kitchen table.

Kaylee turned to watch it sail by and then looked back to River with a grin. “Feel better?”

Sighing heavily, River closed her eyes for a moment and when she reopened them, they were full of the light and happiness Kaylee had grown accustomed to seeing in the past few weeks. “Yes, much. Thanks for listening.”

Kaylee waved away her gratitude as River joined her in her preparations. “Oh, trust me, there are days I wish I had someone to listen to me.” Leaning towards River, she confided in a low voice, “When your brother’s sick, you’d think the whole world was gonna end. And he’s a doc!”

The two women shared a laugh and it was like this, working side by side and talking animatedly that Simon found them twenty minutes later. Stepping into the kitchen, the screen door shutting got their attention and both of them turned to regard him with wide smiles and laughing eyes.

Moving to his wife, he kissed her cheek, and murmured, “Okay, I’m not sure if I should be concerned by the looks on your faces or happy about it.”

“Oh it’s okay, Simon,” River said, looking back to the salad she was preparing. “We stopped talking about you a good ten minutes ago.”

Kissing her lightly on the cheek, Simon whispered, “Brat,” before moving from the room to wash up.

“Get Danny and Ry,” Kaylee called after him, getting an “Okay!” shouted in return.

With an even wider grin on her face, Kaylee went back to bustling, bringing food into the dining room, and being sure the table was set. As she moved back into the kitchen, she noticed that River had turned to watch her and was staring past her now, her eyes wide.

Placing a light hand to her arm, Kaylee asked softly, “Sweetie, you okay?”

Blinking rapidly, River smiled at her and said, “Of course.”

Frowning at her, it was Kaylee’s turn to watch her as she flitted between rooms. Once she’d come back into the kitchen, she was met with Kaylee’s appraising look and her hands on her hips. “Why is it I don’t believe ya?”

Smiling to her even wider, River placed a kiss to her sister’s cheek and said, “Everything’s fine, Kaylee, I promise. I just …” She trailed off as she again felt that wave of contentment she had registered before coming from her brother and his children, and the woman standing before her. Bringing her eyes back to Kaylee’s face, she told her, “You’re happy here.”

Returning her smile, Kaylee said, “Yeah, sweetie, we are. More than even I thought we’d be.”

Hugging Kaylee suddenly, River squeezed her tight and whispered, “That’s all I ever wanted for you, happiness.” A few tears she hadn’t expected leaked down her face and Kaylee ran a hand through her long hair.

“I know, sweetie, and we have it, we’re happy.” Waiting another moment, Kaylee finally asked, “Are you?”

Tensing in her embrace, Kaylee got her answer. “River?”

“I’m starving!”

“Me too!”

The sound of Danny and Rylee’s loud voices as they barreled down the stairs for dinner disrupted the moment, giving River an excuse to pull away from her sister and settle at the table. Engaging her niece in conversation quickly, River did her best to avoid Kaylee’s pointed stares for the rest of the night.

***

3 weeks later

***

Simon studied the charts in front of him, doing his best to keep his eyes focused. It was late, very late, but a pattern he had just started to observe over the past few days would not leave him alone and so he had retreated back to his clinic after supper, and now, even after the sun had set and he’d lit all the lamps in the room, he was still there, trying to puzzle it out. But his fatigue was starting wear him down and he just couldn’t make the clues fit together.

The sound of the door opening pulled his attention away and he turned to see Kaylee standing there, her mouth open in a wide yawn. Smiling at the absolute adorableness of his wife, Simon rose and pulled her into an embrace. “What are you doing up, bao bei?” he asked her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “It’s late.”

“Then you shouldn’t be up neither,” she told him sleepily, resting her head against his chest.

“I’m just finishing some work. I want to be sure I have plenty of time to spend with Mal and Inara and Mimi when they get here,” he told her, moving away from her so he could turn off the lamps and head with her to bed.

Joining him in his task, Kaylee also extinguished a few and they were soon walking back through the house and upstairs, hand in hand. “I can’t wait to see ‘Nara,” Kaylee confided, her eyes lighting a bit at the thought of spending time with her friend. “And her new lil’ one. I bet it’s a boy.”

“You think so, huh?” Simon asked, watching as Kaylee slid into bed. Joining her in moments, he told her, “I’m sure Mal hopes so.”

Shaking her head slightly, Kaylee told him, “Nah, cap’n don’t care. He’s a big ol’ softie. If’n it’s another girl he’ll be just as pleased.”

Kissing her, Simon whispered, “Well, you better get some sleep then, because our full house is about to get fuller.”

She nodded once, feeling the need to go back to sleep, but she had come to find Simon for a reason and she was going to see it through. Opening her eyes to him again, she noticed that he was still staring at her. Smiling slightly, she said, “I actually came to talk to you ‘bout somethin’.”

Running his hand through her hair, he asked, “What’s that?”

Swallowing hard, Kaylee took a deep breath, hoping she wasn’t wrong; she certainly didn’t want to make a fuss for no reason. “’Bout River. I think somethin’s wrong.”

Simon’s eyes widened imperceptibly, but his voice was even as he asked, “What do you mean?”

“Well, a couple o’ weeks ago, when we was in the kitchen together, makin’ supper, she told me that she was real glad we were happy,” Kaylee explained, edging closer to him and curling her hands up under her chin.

Cocking an eyebrow at her, Simon commented snidely, “Oh my god, you’re right. Something is wrong. Why didn’t I see it before?”

Frowning at him, Kaylee murmured, “You are such a boob,” to which Simon grinned wide and then she continued. “So, I asked her if’n she was happy too.”

“And?”

Blinking away a few tears at the memory, Kaylee told him in a soft voice, “She didn’t answer me. An’ every time I’ve tried to talk with her about it since, she just avoids it.”

That did concern Simon. His sister and Jayne both had been doing so well since their arrival and truthfully Simon was thrilled. He loved seeing the light in his sister’s eyes as she played with his kids or the sound of her laughter as she talked with Kaylee. Even the two of them had managed to have some talks, just like they used to, and it comforted Simon in a way he hadn’t even realized he’d been missing. But if River was avoiding Kaylee for any reason, then something was definitely up.

“Things have been a little stressful for her lately,” Simon offered, but noted quickly as Kaylee wrinkled her nose at him.

Stifling a yawn and blinking her eyes to keep them open, she said, “I don’t think that’s it, sweetie. I really don’t.”

Thinking on it for a minute more, and smiling slightly as his wife tried to stay awake, Simon finally leaned in, and kissed her softly. “I’ll see if I can get her to talk to me about it, okay?”

Yawning again, Kaylee snuggled into him as he wrapped his arms around her and murmured, “Okay. Maybe it’s nothing, but …”

“But you want her to be happy,” Simon finished, pressing a kiss into her hair.

“Well, yeah, o’ course,” Kaylee said softly and then she was asleep.

Simon could only lie there with her in his arms, thinking for not the first time how unbelievably loving she was and how unbelievably lucky he was.

***

“Oh my god, ‘Nara you are so-"

“Fat,” Inara finished flatly for her friend, even as Kaylee hugged her tight.

Pulling back from her, Kaylee told her, “No, that ain’t what I was gonna say and you know it.”

“Well, it’s the truth,” Inara told her, her hands falling to her stomach.

“No, you’re beautiful an’ glowin’ an’ absolutely perfect,” Kaylee told her, kissing her friend on the cheek and looking past her to where Simon and Mal were carrying their bags. “Ain’t that right, cap’n?” she called, getting his attention.

Looking from Kaylee to his wife, Mal took a guess and shouted back, “’Course it is, lil’ Kaylee!” As his ex-mechanic beamed back at him, he let out a sigh of relief that he’d said the right thing.

Turning his attention to the house they were approaching, Mal looked to Simon and told him, “That’s a mighty fine place you got, Simon.”

“Thank you, Mal. We really like it.”

“Uncle Mal! Aunt ‘Nara!”

Rylee and Daniel charged out of the house, Daniel breezing past the women to get to his uncle, while Rylee threw herself at her aunt’s legs. “Oh, Aun’ ‘Nara, we missed you so much,” Rylee told her, her voice taking on a melodramatic quality.

Looking to Kaylee with a bemused expression, Inara reached down, not an easy task and cupped the girl’s face in her hand so she could look at her. “Well, I’ve missed you, too, little one.”

Beaming from ear to ear, Rylee tugged on her hand, ready to pull her inside when she noticed Mimi in Kaylee’s arms. Waving to the girl, Rylee said, “Hi Meems,” before turning to usher everyone indoors.

As Mal, Simon and Daniel finally made it into the house, they stopped behind Inara and Kaylee, who had frozen just inside the doorway. Inara was staring at something, her mouth hanging open and the shocked look on her face not sitting well with her husband. Dropping their bags, he moved to her side and questioned, “’Nara, you all right?”

Pointing, she still could not speak even as a few tears came to her eyes. Following her hand, Mal saw what had her so dumbstruck and he felt the same expression assault his own features. There, in Simon and Kaylee’s living room were Jayne and River, smiling those big, goofy grins.

“Surprise,” River said lightly, moving to hug first Mal and then his wife.

“Well, now lil’ albatross, this is indeed a surprise,” Mal told her, hugging her tight.

Looking to Jayne, he saw his merc’s right arm was in a sling and he approached him with a quizzical look. “You all right there, Jayne?”

Nodding once, he smiled to his captain and said, “Yeah, Mal. I’m good. Simon’s been patchin’ me up.”

With an even wider-eyed expression, Mal turned back to regard Simon who had come into the room to stand beside Kaylee. “Ya finally did it, ya finally shot Jayne. What’d he do? He called ya pretty ‘gain didn’t he?”

Everyone laughed at this, even Simon, but it was Jayne who howled the loudest. “Nah, Simon an’ me, we got an understandin’. Ain’t that right, doc?”

Taking a step closer to Simon as this odd statement fell from Jayne’s lips, Mal lowered his voice, just a bit, but still loud enough for everyone to hear and asked, “Exactly how much pain medication you got ‘im on?”

As more laughter filled the room, Kaylee made the announcement everyone had been waiting for. “Well, c’mon, ya’ll, I’m guessin’ you’re mighty hungry.”

As they ate the mounds of food Kaylee had prepared and the conversation and laughter grew more boisterous, Rylee turned to regard her aunt who had been noticeably quiet all evening. Reaching up and squeezing her hand to get her attention, she waited until River’s eyes were on her and then leaned towards her, whispering, “Isn’t it shiny, Aun’ River? It’s almost like we’re all back on ‘Renity. Like a real family.”

Smiling at her and blinking back tears, River placed a kiss into her hair and whispered back, “Yes, baby, it is. It’s shiny.”

“Simon, I wanna thank you for bein’ so kind as to bring my second child into this ‘verse,” Mal was saying, rather loudly and drawing all the attention to himself. “It means a lot to ‘Nara an’ me.”

“And me,” Mimi piped up from where she sat between her mom and Kaylee.

“Well, it’s not a problem, Mal,” Simon said, reaching out to squeeze Kaylee’s hand. “I’m more than happy to help.”

“How’ve you been feelin’, ‘Nara?” Kaylee asked, turning happy eyes to her friend.

“Oh, fine,” Inara told her, rolling her eyes slightly as Mal let out a small snort of derision.

“Fine?” Mal asked, leaning forward and sweeping his eyes over everyone at the table. “You should see the bump I got from where this crazed woman beaned me with a book, and a thick one.”

This got a round of laughter from the table, but for River it only caused pain. Rising abruptly, she murmured “Excuse me,” before running from the room, Simon, Kaylee and Jayne’s eyes all following her.

Leaning in towards his wife, Mal whispered, “What’d I say?”

“Ai ya,” Inara muttered under her breath, covering her face with her hand. “How could we be so stupid?” Looking to Kaylee and Simon and then to Jayne, Inara apologized quickly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think the pregnancy would bother her. We can go back to Harvest.”

“No, ‘Nara,” Jayne said gruffly, pushing back from the table and rising to find his wife. “Now, don’t be silly. You din’t come all this way jus’ to turn ‘round. I’m sure she’s fine.” And with that, the concerned husband left the room in search of his wife.

As Kaylee looked to Simon with a questioning gaze, he knew what she was going to ask. Grimacing, he told her, “No, I haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet.”

***

River was staring out at the night sky when Jayne found her. Watching her for a moment as she stood leaning against the rail, her eyes turned up towards the sky, he marveled again at how unbelievable beautiful and special she was.

“And crazy,” she told him dryly, turning to face him. “Don’t forget crazy.”

Frowning at her, Jayne approached her and kissed her long and deep. When they parted, he whispered, “I’ll remind you not to speak that way ‘bout my wife.” Kissing her again, Jayne pulled her to him and River snuggled close.

“You wanna tell me what happened back there?” he asked her finally, his chin resting on the top of her head.

“I just needed some air,” she lied, her voice muffled against his chest.

“Uh huh,” he told her. Pulling back a bit, Jayne looked into her brown eyes which were shining with unshed tears and said, “An’ my arm don’t hurt.” She smiled at him slightly and then he asked again. “Come on, what happened?”

With a heavy sigh, River backed away from him and walked the length of the porch until she was as far away from him as she could be. Turning and leaning against the railing, she studied her feet for a moment and then murmured, “I want a baby, Jayne.”

Having followed her, Jayne didn’t miss what she’d said, although he technically didn’t need for her to tell him. River’s desire to have a child had not waned in the months since she’d miscarried, and now it appeared that Inara’s very pregnant presence was only serving as another reminder of how badly she wanted to care for a baby.

“Well, I know that, darlin’,” he told her softly, sitting beside her. “But I think even you can admit we’ve tried everythin’ to have one an’ it just ain’t possible.”

Turning her wide eyes back to him, River said quietly, “Not everything.”

Frowning at her, Jayne tried to think of what else they could possibly do. They had already spent months scouring the Core for a cure that it turned out had never been made. They had tried to adopt Cadie, but the girl had said no, knowing she would only be a substitute for the child that River wanted. And of course, they had tried the natural way, but with the virus still in River’s blood stream, it just wasn’t possible.

“What else could we do, darlin’?” Jayne asked her, truly curious.

Dropping her gaze again to the floor, she murmured, “We could ask someone else to carry it.”

Still confused, Jayne asked, “Shenme?”

“It’s called surrogacy,” River explained, turning to regard him, her eyes once again clear. “It’s where we would find a healthy woman to carry and birth a baby made from one of my eggs and your sperm.”

Trying to wrap his head around the concept, Jayne questioned, “How’s it gonna get in some other lady’s stomach?”

Hiding her smile, River told him, “It’s a fairly complicated procedure, and pretty expensive, but it has worked, quite successfully, millions of times before.”

“So, what happens once it’s born?” he asked her, looking at the way her face lit the more she spoke about it.

“Well, then the baby is ours, half you and half me, so we get to keep it and raise it and care for it …” Pausing for a moment, River finally added, “It’ll be just like a normal pregnancy, except I won’t get fat.”

Jayne was silent for several moments, thinking over his wife’s latest request. In truth, he didn’t understand all the ins and outs and he supposed he didn’t really have to. But if River felt this was an option for them and if it would make her happy, then how could he possibly stand in her way?

“River, I ain’t sayin’ I totally get all this, but if you think it can work-“

His statement was cut off as River threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. “It’ll work, Jayne, I know it.”

“And who exactly is you gonna trust to carry our lil’ ‘un for nine months?” he asked her, as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

Smiling, River murmured, “The best mother I know.”

***

As morning dawned, River could barely stay in bed, her nerves and excitement over speaking with Kaylee regarding the surrogacy getting the better of her. Leaving Jayne asleep, he had been much more tired since the surgeries, River bounded down the hall to Rylee’s room, where she saw Kaylee leaning over the twins’ crib.

Entering the room quietly, she approached her sister and asked, “Can I help?”

Smiling to her, Kaylee nodded in the direction of Ethan as she reached in and picked up Emma. Following Kaylee out of the room, River waited until they were downstairs, bottles ready, before even thinking to utter another word.

“What’re you doin’ up so early?” Kaylee asked, looking to River as she doted on her son.

Smiling to her, River shrugged and answered, “Couldn’t sleep. Plus, those drugs Simon gave Jayne – I think they’re making his snoring worse.”

Wrinkling her nose, Kaylee laughed a bit before turning her attention back to Emma. River watched her for a moment and then said quietly, “You really are an amazing mother.”

Turning a surprised expression to her, Kaylee grinned, one of her classic, wide smiles and said, “Well, thank you, sweetie, but you know I can’t take all the credit. Simon’s a great dad.”

Nodding once, River’s mind flickered to her brother for just a moment. He was an unbelievable parent, as she had always suspected he would be. Of course, how the two of them could have grown up to love so deeply, so completely, when their father had been so cold and their mother so detached, River did not know. She supposed it was because of that upbringing that she and Simon felt a deeper need than most to shower their loved ones with affection.

Clearing her throat, River got Kaylee’s attention and said quietly, “Kaylee, there’s something I really want to talk with you about.”

Leaning towards her and clasping one of her hands, Kaylee smiled, hoping to erase the tension that had suddenly appeared on River’s face. “Of course, sweetie. Anythin’.”

Swallowing hard past the lump in her throat, River tried to return the other girl’s grin, but she couldn’t. Her anxiety over what Kaylee would say, how she would react to such a request was causing her gut to churn uncomfortably, and of course, Kaylee noticed.

“River, sweetie, you okay?” Kaylee edged towards her a bit, placing a hand to her forehead, checking her for a fever, as it was the typical mom response to distress.

Clearing her throat again, River said, “I’m just a bit nervous, because what I’m going to ask of you …” She trailed off and again brought her eyes to Kaylee’s. “It’s really big.”

Getting a bit nervous herself, Kaylee simply waited until River had collected herself and finally said, “Kaylee, I really want a baby.”

Her eyes immediately filling with tears, Kaylee told her softly, “I know, sweetie. But that just ain’t possible. You know that.”

Shaking her head, River sat forward a bit, careful to cradle Ethan to her and said, “But maybe it is. Not in the traditional way, but …” Meeting Kaylee’s gaze once more, River said, “There’s a procedure that might make it possible.”

Her brow furrowing, Kaylee sat back a bit, and shifted Emma to her shoulder, patting the girl’s back lightly to burp her. “What kinda procedure?” she asked, curious as to why Simon would not have mentioned it before.

Shifting to hold Ethan the same way, River told her, “It’s called surrogacy. It’s a way for women who cannot carry their own babies, to still have one from their egg and their husband’s sperm.”

Her look of confusion only deepening, Kaylee studied her for a moment. Surrogacy was not something she had ever heard of before, which wasn’t surprising. On Harvest, when Kaylee had been growing up, it was pretty much unheard of for a woman to be incapable of having a child. And even if she couldn’t, she suspected that this procedure would cost money, money that none of Kaylee’s neighbors would have ever had.

As River watched Kaylee try to understand, she barreled ahead with her explanation, hoping not to lose her nerve. “Basically, a specialist would take one of my eggs, fertilize it with Jayne’s sperm and then implant it into another woman’s uterus, the surrogate.”

Her eyes widening at the thought, Kaylee rose to place Emma in her bassinet, while she moved to the sink to clean the bottle. “That sounds awful tricky, River.” Turning back to face her, she asked, “Who’re ya gonna get to carry the baby?”

Swallowing hard, River rose and placed Ethan beside his sister, and then walked towards Kaylee. Reaching past her to place the dirty bottle in the sink when she’d pulled back, she met her eyes and said softly, “I was hoping you would do it.”

“Me?” Kaylee breathed, her eyes even wider. Searching River’s face for some kind of explanation, Kaylee asked her, “You want me to carry your baby?”

Nodding once, River took her hands, trying to keep her tears in. This was her one great hope, the only plan she could think of that would result in she and Jayne having a child of their own. Kaylee had to say yes. “Please, Kaylee. Jayne and I will take care of all the expense and we’ll take care of you, well, as much as Simon’ll let us,” she added as an afterthought, knowing how protective her brother could be. “Please, Kaylee, I want what you have with Daniel and Rylee and the twins. I really want to be a mother.”

Blinking back her own tears, Kaylee looked into her face and could only stare. So many emotions were running through her mind, she had no idea how to order them all, let alone wade through them to make a decision. Of course, fear was the first and most dominant thing she felt. Shivering a bit, as she remembered her difficulty with carrying Ethan and Emma, Kaylee pulled her hands from River’s and sat again at the table, staring at nothing. River followed her and sat as well, waiting as patiently as she could for Kaylee to say something.

Turning tear-stained cheeks to her, Kaylee whispered, “River, honey, this is a big decision. An’ you know I gotta ask Simon.”

Nodding once, River cast her eyes to the tabletop and said, “I know, but I wanted to know what you thought of it first. If I even had a chance.”

Reaching out, Kaylee grasped River’s hands tightly in her own and said, “Sweetie, you know I would do jus’ about anythin’ for you. But this is big. And I ain’t gonna pretend that my last pregnancy with the twins was easy, ‘cause it weren’t. It was real hard an’ real scary, an’ Simon and I, we talked about Ethan and Emma bein’ it.” Kaylee watched as River’s face fell and she felt her own heart drop to her stomach. “But I promise, I will talk to ‘im ‘bout it.”

River nodded once and waited for a moment for both of them to collect themselves. Finally, she asked, “What if he says no?”

Sitting back, Kaylee shook her head and said, “If Simon says no, than the answer’s no, River. This is gonna affect him too, more than you think.”

Swallowing hard, River’s voice was barely above a whisper as she asked, “And if he says yes?”

Kaylee looked to her sister and then allowed her eyes to drift across the room to the bassinet that held her sleeping babies. She thought of her pregnancy with Daniel and how alone she’d been and then her pregnancy with Rylee and how happy she’d been. Her pregnancy with the twins had been terrible and scary, but now, she had those two perfect babies and if someone gave her the choice of not suffering through that pain or not having her newest son and daughter, she would always choose her children.

With a sigh, Kaylee finally murmured, “If’n he says yes, an’ that my health is good, than of course I’ll do it.”

Looking to Kaylee quickly with big tears in her eyes, River breathed, “Really?” At a nod from Kaylee, the younger woman launched herself out of her chair, wrapping her arms around her sister and squeezing her tight. “Thank you,” she murmured, kissing her on the cheek.

Kaylee hugged her back and tried to quell the image of her husband’s face when she broached the topic with him.

***