Author Note: this is set about two months after the end of the movie.

One

Walking into Zoe's quarters without permission, Mal asked her, "Just what is that?"

She didn't reply, just tried to hide the test, before realizing it was pointless and holding it out to the captain. He knew exactly what it was before he asked. It was the reason he came to see her.

Pulling a face, he held up his hands and exclaimed, "I ain't touching it."

"You're such a baby!" Zoe exclaimed.

The captain raised his eyebrows at her poor choice of words and waited for his first mate's real reaction to hit.

"Oh, god," she said, tossing the test into the corner and covering her face.

After a few moments of silence, Mal asked her, "Were you trying?"

She nodded.

"Did Wash know that?"

She glared.

"It's just," the captain continued, "I seem to recall a month long argument all across my boat about how all our lives were too dangerous to involve children."

"He wanted them, if our lives had been different."

"And you wanted them either way."

Zoe shook her head slightly and wiped her hand across her forehead. "Why did I think this was a good idea?"

Mal shrugged and said simply, "You were in love. Guess it's natural."

Not letting him have the high ground a moment longer Zoe then turned the conversation around. "Speaking of love…" she began.

The captain immediately began to back away. "Good talkin' to you," he said, while stumbling at the base of the ladder.

"How are you and Inara getting along these days?" Zoe continued to press. "Between you two and Simon and Kaylee this place is almost romantic."

"Yeah, an' Jayne and his hand. Goodnight, Zoe!"

She smiled at her boss' getaway, then rubbed her still flat belly and said, "You're gonna have quite the time growing up here."