"So he needs a name?"

"Yes?"

"Scary Government Operative isn't a name?"

"Mal wants to name him Judy, I peeked."

“That is rather dire.... Can we name him Frodo?”

“No.”

“Megatron?”

“No.”

“Wolverine?”

"No."

"Ash Ketchum?"

River’s dark eyes shot her boyfriend a sobering look. "From Pallet Town?"

“Spock?” He smiled encouragingly.

River smacked him as they lay in bed, listening to his fake whimper as he held her close and set a kiss right between her eyes. The sun was on it's slow decent, and through the window the light was the color of summer peaches as the lovers kept to their nest. Off to the side, York was grooming Boston as they snuggled up on a pile of clothes.

"Alright, alright I'll be serious." Fiyero gave a professional look, steely eyed as he drew up a brow. "Obi-wan?"

River pummeled Fiyero with a pillow.

He gave a muffled laugh from beyond the downy square he was being smacked with. "Please say yes to Obi-wan!.” There was a sound whump of a pillow against his face “I swear he can go by Ben Kenobi…"

She continued to beat him, and he continued to laugh.

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

"How... When.... she's.... No! She's eighteen years old and she's still so....."

Inara came over to Simon, as she was in Simon and Kaylee's bedroom helping them with the clothes, and rubbed his back soothingly. The poor doctor, was wound so tight from the day, and his sister's newfound amour and maturity was only wearing him more ragged.

His head dipped as his mouth was open wide and rather unintelligible sounds came forth. "She's... She’s so…. She's River and she's... she's....”

“She’s not a frail little girl that needs you every day of every hour anymore.” Inara responded to his soulful eyes, lost voice and signature flustered mien. “She’s strong now, independent, beautiful and mature enough for an intimate relationship.”

Simon turned his head to her. “I don’t know anything about this…. Fiyero…” He cringed slightly at the name. “Fiyero… is that even a name?”

“It’s unique.”` Kaylee responded, looking over to Liam and Dakota who were on the bed, playing with little wooden soldiers.

“They’re just kids…”

“They ain’t that young,” Kaylee pulled out a little eight piece cap of different cuts of fabric. “Trust me on that one.” Turning, she dropped it on Liam’s head, where it sat handsomely.

Liam looked up, a hand going to the hat as Simon digested her announcement.

“You look swai, baby.” She told him, tugging the cap down.

Simon blinked, shaking his head in disagreement. Putting his hands on his hips, he struggled to form the correct words. Wetting his lips, his voice was low to keep his children from hearing. “Are they even making wise choices about their.. sexuality? Is he clean? Are they using contraceptives… I don’t know anything!” The doctor whispered, harshly.

Kaylee looked to Inara, and the companion looked to the mechanic, both knowing. Handing Dakota a pretty yellow dress, she went over to the other adults.

Simon looked at them both, puzzled. “What?”

“Well.” Kaylee twisted her hands together, whispering as well. “ They’ve been careful… been using rubbers… actually.”

“What?”

“I sent her halfa box in her care package…. From your supplies….”

“Kaylee!”

“Simon, I sent her some too when Fiyero touched down today.”

“You did what?!” No one had ever seen his eyes so large.

“Simon, she’s in an adult relationship, we just want her to be careful.” Inara folded her arms. “Would you rather we look the other way and pretend nothing has been happening or would happen? So they could go on and have unprotected sex?”

Simon floundered, huffing air, frustrated.

Looking away, he saw Dakota trying to put the yellow dress on Liam, which made him put his fingers up to his sinuses.

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

“How do I look?”

River’s eyes slid up and down Fiyero’s frame. Cargo pants and a long sleeve shirt, pant legs tucked into some mongolian steppe boots that matched his mongolian style jacket (both brown leather with green-blue embroidery). Brown locks unbraided, brushed out and tied back, he turned in the mirror and smiled at her expectantly for approval.

“Handsome.” She tugged on his jacket, wearing a navy dress herself with her hair brushed out so it was like smooth silk (a far cry from her unkept mane days) and her favorite combat boots. “Remember how to eat in front of people?”

“It does involve a table…. Doesn’t it?”

River hugged him, giggling.

He didn't have to hear she was proud to show him off, her expression said it all.

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

“So, Fiyero….” Mal pushed his dinner around with his fork as fourteen people were crammed around the table, every chair occupied and then some. The spread was ample. Jayne had taken down a deer, and the last of the potatoes and canned vegetables had been cooked. A run to Colter’s store was going to be made the next day, but currently the topic was not the food as the Captain and the Doctor stared down the young man seated to the right side of River. “Where’s your folks?”

“Don’t exactly know my biological parents.” He sipped water out of a coffee mug. “Um… my adoptive parents… My dad found me outside of their ship, few days old wrapped in an old sweatshirt with a piece of paper that had my name written on it.” Fiyero knew there was building discord towards him, and he shifted nervously, giving an equally nervous half smile. “My adoptive folks were cirque gypsies, so I more or less grew up in an acrobatic troop.”

Simon’s eyes looked at him as if he had a large growth on his nose.

Mal quirked a brow. “A circus gypsy?”

Fiyero grasped his mug again and gulped down some water, as his throat suddenly felt rather dry. “Guilty.”

Simon’s eyes moved to River, and everyone could read that they screamed to her one thing.

Of all in the universe, a Circus Gypsy?

Fiyero smiled, sheepishly.

River’s brown eyes gave a warning shot, and she quickly ran her foot up Fiyero’s leg from under the tablecloth. “He’s a Tai Shing Pek Kwar student. Better than me with acrobatics.”

Fiyero relaxed some as he felt a very warm, fuzzy, de-stressing projection come from his girlfriend. “Shao Long, you match me with the twisty air moves, that’s why we get along so well.”

Inara and Kaylee smiled sweetly at the young couple.

“One of the reasons.” She rubbed his shoulder, then turned to her brother and Mal. “Adopted family died three years back, here on Shadow.”

“We were doing a show on Dogpatch the same day the Alliance decided to drop in and squash a forming militia.” Fiyero’s voice hit a squeaky note. “We didn’t even get to perform. Set up the tents, started practicing and then…. Not so much with routine when the Fed tanks rolled in off of combat ships and the soldiers took over the island.” His face slowly lost it’s elasticity, and his eyes sadly cast down. “A lot of exploding…. And our lion tamer’s lions got out… Which in retrospect was probably what made it a whole lot worse” He swept the faces around the table, wetting his lips.

Simon looked skeptical at the tale.

“Really wish I was ‘cause freaked out lions and men with guns aren’t fun.... then there were the elephants...” Fiyero rubbed his neck as he addressed Simon’s thoughts. “I holed up for four months in a farmhouse after the Alliance flew out… but Virgil and all those guys found me… and… here I now sit.” He took another swill of his water.

“Have you ever had… any, form of schooling?” Simon probed, gently.

Kaylee winced, her eyes casting down to the plate before her.

“I can read, write a note and sign my name.” He answered, honestly. “I do however hold a wealth of random Earth-That-Was pop culture knowledge, I can do a double somersault, and I pretty decent with self defense.”

“Impressive.” Mal swallowed his food. “Book smarts aren’t always the best type of knowledge." His eyes slid to Simon. "The Doctor should know that, what with him marryin' a engineering prodigy who has no formal education."

Kaylee blushed. "No one's ever called me an engineer before, jeepers Cap'n.

"Well you are."

"Sure are, meimei." Zoe smiled at her, and gave Simon a sideways warning he was completely oblivious to.

Simon took a deep breath, nodding his head in agreement social status and education were things his father would worry about. He was completely unaware though, how Kaylee was processing his questions in a way that meant he had done something on the far side of stupid. Right up there with 'you're literally the only girl.'

"You ever kill a man, Fiyero?” Mal asked out of the blue.

Inara raised her brows at him.

“Few times.” He admitted. “Not something particularly warm and fuzzy, but it happens when you're under the employ of a pirate.”

“Would you object to a complete physical?” Simon quizzed.

River and Kaylee glared at him, Mal gave a half smile, Zoe and Tasya arched their brows, Inara was rather taken back, Jayne snorted in between inhaling, the Operative looked up, the Reynolds boys watched, and Dakota stole potatoes from Liam who was quasi interested in what the grown ups were talking about.

Fiyero felt captive as he sat across from the two men. “Uhhh….. I’ll say…. Yes?”

“Good answer.” Mal smiled, dryly.

"Dakota ated my 'tatoes." Liam pouted as his plate was suddenly empty.

*** *** ***

*****As always, the writer appreciates all comments whether they be positive, negative, or suggestions.**