DISCLAIMER: Don't own it, never did, just having fun playing.

A/N: A huge thanks to kispexi2 for betaing this, my first multi-chapter effort! Wouldn't want to do it without you!

Translations are in mouseover.

Feedback would be shiny!

Chapter 1 Adult Only!, Chapter 2 PG13, Chapter 3 PG13, Chapter 4 Adult Only!, Chapter 4A PG13, Chapter 5 PG13, Chapter 6 PG13, Chapter 7 PG13, Chapter 8 PG13, Chapter 9 PG13, Chapter 10 PG13

Chapter 11 Simon gets cold feet, and Mal tries to warm them up.

Simon was in the bunk he shared with Mal. He'd been there since shortly after his latest conversation with Zoë. How could I not have realized I would be the primary caregiver for any child Mal and I have? Guess he'd been thinking too much in the abstract, and not enough in the reality, or he would have known it without Zoë pointing it out. He was the one who usually stayed behind while Mal went out on a 'job'. He was the one who wasn't busy unless someone was sick or injured on one of the aforesaid 'jobs'. He was the one who opened this can of worms without thinking it all the way through. Top three percent, indeed! Huh! I'm the one who's not good with babies! Or children! He sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands, and groaned as these thoughts and more kept going around and around in his brain.

It was with a sense of relief that he heard the hatch to the bunk open, and Mal's footsteps come down the ladder. Then he looked up, and saw Mal holding Becca. For one panicked second, he thought about running out of the bunk, but his legs didn't seem to want to work. Not that he could have gone far anyway since they'd left Persephone behind almost an hour ago. Instead, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to think of somewhere he could hide in their room. There wasn't anywhere, of course, so he opened his eyes to face the inevitable.

Mal stepped off the bottom rung of the ladder, and looked over at Simon. Āi yā, he's as white as a sheet! If Simon hadn't already been sitting, Mal would have forced him down before he fainted. Mal didn't think he'd ever seen Simon look so scared. Not even when he'd threatened to leave four and a half years ago. He walked slowly to the bed and sat down next to Simon before drawing him into a gentle embrace and giving him a soft kiss. "What's the matter, ài chēng?" he asked softly.

"Nothing. Everything. Mal, I can't do this!" Simon shuddered in Mal's arms.

"Do what, ài chēng?"

"This! Take care of a baby! I'm no good with children!" If possible, Simon shuddered even harder.

"Shh…Nobody's askin' you to take care of a baby right this minute." Mal gently stroked the hair off Simon's forehead and gave him another kiss.

"Then why do you have Becca?" Simon asked with what he felt was understandable confusion.

"Hmm? Oh, because Zoë let me hold her, and I like holdin' her."

Simon took a deep breath and asked, "You're not going to make me hold her, are you?"

"Not if you don't want to, but don't you want to?"

Simon just shook his head, vehemently.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm no good with babies," he sighed.

"You did just fine when you delivered her."

"Yes, well, I was her doctor then. I can do just about anything when I'm Dr. Tam, all that displacement training, you know."

"I see… And when you're not Dr. Tam?"

"Well, then I'm just Simon, and when it comes to children I get scared and feel like I can't do anything. That I'm not strong enough, or fast enough, or smart enough, or…"

"Stop it! You do know that's just a bunch of gŏu shi, don't you! Don't give me any of that fèi huà! Not smart enough! What? Top three percent's not good enough!" By this time Mal was up and pacing the floor in their bunk, waving one hand in the air while he continued to rant.

Simon interrupted long enough to say, "Here, give me Becca. You're going to forget you're holding her, and drop her while you yell at me." He took Becca and sat back down on the bed. Scooting up so his back was against the wall, he looked down at her and ignored Mal's continued yelling. Suddenly, he realized that it was awfully quiet. He looked up to see Mal grinning at him. He looked down at Becca, then back at Mal, as he realized how Mal had tricked him. "Hún dàn," he smiled.

"Yup. That's me." Mal grinned even more as he came and sat down next to Simon. "Seriously, though, Simon. I understand you're scared. So am I, and we haven't even finished discussing the idea. But you've got to know that you wouldn't be trying to raise a child on your own! I'm not always away, nor am I always injured."

"I know, love. I guess I just panicked."

"I guess you did. You okay, now?"

Looking down at the sleeping baby in his arms, Simon smiled and said, "Yes, I think I am."

Chapter 12