Title: Shadow

Rating: pretty G for now

Characters: the whole crew, plus toddlers Kacey and Lolly, Baby Abey

Pairings: Heavy on the M/I, trying not to neglect the rest of canon (S/K, Z/W, J/Vera)

Summary: Set 4 years post-BDM, Mal and the crew has a job on Shadow.

Author's Note: For those confused by the children and this world, please read the rest of the Pirate Children stories (here in chronological order): Brother, Shadow (this one), Pirate Children, and Hell-Raising. This story is going to be multi-chaptered, along the lines of PC. After all, that one is about Inara going home; this is Mal's turn. Nothing too awkward yet, but there is more to come. Also, this is the first of the stories where the children are not featured prominently (it's hard when they're 1, 2.5, and 3.5) and poor little Serra isn't even born yet. She's feeling a little neglected. But I'm very nervous about my adult characterizations, so be nice! :)

Part 2

“He’s coming in this afternoon?” Laney’s eldest daughter questions loudly over the flock of squealing Reynolds-Stokes children who are high-tailing it out of church, wrinkling and dirtying their Sunday clothes in the grass and mud of the churchyard. Hannah, heavy with her third child, keeps one eye trained on her two rambunctious boys (she’s been praying for a girl) and another on her mother beside her. “Yes. After lunch. We’ll be cooking all afternoon.” Laney is bright, glowing over the impending return of her nephew to Shadow. Hannah smiles at her mother, hands supporting her burdened lower back, but is more wary of her cousin’s arrival than her mother. She remembers the dark, broken young veteran who attended her aunt’s funeral, while Laney remembers the mischievous little boy who helped the Reynolds-Stokes boys chase Hannah and the other girls around the cotton fields, brandishing snakes and toads. “He’s taking the crop to Three Hills?” she asks. “Trying for the regular transport job?” “Yes, wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Hannah tries to smile reassuringly. “Nana! Kenna bit me!”

***

“So, uh, you’re gonna need to be on your best behavior, dong ma?” “Yep, Uncle Mal,” Kacey answers, overly chipper, while continuing to color a beautiful abstract picture of… something. “And you?” “Okay,” Lolly answers with little thought, coloring her own masterpiece, chewing on her pinky thoughtfully before adding a red circle to her… puppy? “How ‘bout you?” Abe, snug in his highchair with a few blocks strewn in front of him, just grins, revealing his four teeth. Mal sighs. They’re not taking him very seriously. He’s not quite sure how he got stuck with all three children around the kitchen table while everyone else prepared to land, but he can’t just leave them (at three-and-a-half, two-and-a-half, and almost-one) to their own devices. Thankfully, they’re relatively calm at the moment, even if they are basically ignoring him. “Whatcha drawin’, little Washburn?” “Mommy,” Kacey answers in all seriousness, which makes Mal want to laugh. “Captain?” Wash’s voice comes over the comm. “Hi Dad!” “Hi, Kacey. Is Uncle Mal with you?” “I’m here, Wash,” Mal sighs, fishing a crayon out of Lolly’s mouth, thinking, When’d I get so gorramn domesticated? “We’re comin’ up on atmo, Captain. You coming up to the bridge?” “Was plannin’ on it,” Mal says, watching the younger members of Serenity make goofy faces at each other. “What’s the problem?” “Mmmmmamamamama,” Abe sings, straining out of his highchair. Mal turns to see Inara entering the kitchen, dressed fairly nicer than was usual these days, though nothing as fancy as her earlier days aboard Serenity. Not that she doesn’t look beautiful every gorramn day of the week. “No problem, Wash. Be right there. Tag, you’re it, darlin’,” Mal directs at Inara. “I’d gathered. Off to captain?” “Somethin’ like that. Gotta make sure Wash doesn’t crash us. Or maybe make sure he does.” “Mal, we don’t have to do this,” Inara reminds him, brushing a hand over Abe’s dark hair in an attempt to calm his squirming. Now that Mama’s entered the room, the highchair just won’t cut it. “Might as well see it through. ‘Sides, I’m bringing a mighty cute baby for everyone to coo over. That’ll take all the attention off me.” He grins affectionately at her, gently squeezing her shoulder. “See ya when we hit dirt. Y’all be good for Aunt ‘Nara, hear? Draw me some pretty pictures; cupboards’re lookin’ a little blank as of late.” “Okay,” Lolly and Kacey answer, just out of synch with each other. As he leaves, Inara has freed Abram from his prison and the pair is seated between the two toddlers, inspecting their work. “Oh, Kacey, that’s a beautiful portrait of your mommy…” Mal rolls his eyes and heads up the stairs, joining the Washburns and River on the bridge. “She’s a might pretty rock, sir,” Zoe says by way of greeting. “That she is,” Mal sighs, hands on his hips as he surveys his home world for the first time in a decade. He feels a little sick to his stomach. “Touching down in seven. Just got clearance,” Wash announces. “Comin’ in a little hot,” Mal warns. “Fallacious,” River answers from the co-pilot’s seat without even looking up. “Breathe, sir.” “Good job. Good money. Can’t turn in down,” River says lyrically, flipping a few switches. “Malcolm’s coming home.”

***

They set down on the concrete landing pad, half a mile down a live oak-lined, riverside grassy drive from the plantation house. The house stands proud with its white columns and gray brick porch, the dock peeking through the trees to its right. The grass is thick and broad, crunching under the feet of the crew as they make their way towards the Stokes residence. “I can walk,” Kacey insists, squirming in Wash’s arms. “I’m big.” Lolly Tam also asks her father to be put down and toddles after her “cousin”, struggling to keep up with his longer stride. The two dance ahead of the adults, giggling, and River jogs up to join them, starting a running game of tag that pinks the little ones’ cheeks in exertion. Abe refuses to be put down or handed off, which is not unusual. He’s in a mother-obsession stage. Inara shifts Abe on her hip, disentangling his fingers from her half-pulled back hair. “You’re getting too heavy from this, baby,” she says lightly, kissing his temple. He just holds on tighter. “You’ll miss it once he starts walkin’,” Kaylee warns warmly from beside her. “Then you won’t be able to keep him still long enough to cuddle.” She tickles Abe’s ribs at this, earning a giggle and a grin, but a stalwart refusal to change hands. “Ah, Baby Abey, stop eatin’ Mama’s hair,” Kaylee laughs, extracting one of her friend’s dark curls from the infant’s mouth. Inara smiles and meets Kaylee’s eyes. The younger woman returns the grin and then gestures to the rear of their group. “Cap’n looks real nervy.” Inara looks over her shoulder at Mal, who is walking a little behind the others, hands his brown coat’s pockets. “He doesn’t like to even talk about his past and now we’re all walking right into it.” “Yeah, I guess that would be a mite hard. It’ll be shiny, though. He’ll see.” Inara smiles at Kaylee’s eternal optimism and ventures another look at Mal, who meets her eyes and tries to reassure her with a grin. His eyes say something different. Kacey, Lolly, and River are almost to the porch now, and Inara notes that there are four adults standing at the front door, watching the crew of Serenity approach. When the tag-playing trio reaches the porch, River introduces herself (Inara would probably pay to see that conversation) and then the toddlers. Kacey and Lolly, even at their young ages, take after their father and mother, respectively; they’ve never met a stranger. Kaylee hurries ahead to join her daughter, scooping the girl up playfully before introducing herself. Wash, Simon, and Jayne are right behind her, meeting everyone. Zoe, Mal, and Inara linger, until eventually Zoe steps forward. “Mrs. Stokes, Zoe Washburn. We met briefly a few years back.” The woman she is addressing is in the center of the group. Beside her is a pregnant woman about Mal’s age and two older men with balding, sunburned heads and vibrant smiles. “I remember. And you probably have met all of these, too. My brothers, Jack and Emmerson, my daughter Hannah.” Zoe nods in greeting. “Cap’n, aren’t you gonna say hi to your family?” Kaylee finally asks, a little frustrated. Inara squeezes Mal’s arm, gently nudging him towards his aunt. “Uh, hi, Aunt Laney, Uncle Jack, Uncle Em. Hannah. Nice to see ya.” Inara fights the urge to roll her eyes, depositing Abram in Mal’s arms and stepping forward with a gracious smile. “I’m Inara,” she introduces herself, extending her hand. Laney has a big smile on her face, sweeping Inara into a hug. “Malcolm Reynolds! We talked just the other day and you didn’t mention you’d gotten yourself hitched! That babe yours?” As Laney releases her, Inara retrieves a somewhat disgruntled Abram (Daddy’s almost as good as Mama, but not quite). The infant giggles happily and begins to babble. “This is Abram,” she says, holding him so he faces outward, surveying his new surroundings. His dark eyes are wide and searching, settling puzzledly on the newcomers. “Abe. We call him Abe,” Mal says, stepping forward to join his family, hesitant smile in place. “Thought I wouldn’t surprise you all at once, ya know? One heart attack at the time.” Laney pulls him into a giant hug as well. “Welcome back, Malcolm. Everyone else is out back, finishing up the boil.” Mal pulls back, just a little uncomfortably, from the embrace. “Everyone?” “Everyone,” Hannah speaks for the first time, “All sixteen Reynolds cousins. Or I guess seventeen now. Plus kids.” “There food?” Jayne asks, impatiently. “Dad, hungry.” “Be patient, Kacey,” Zoe says. “Me, too, Mommy,” Lolly adds. “Well then, the little ones have spoken,” one of the Reynolds brothers (Jack? Emmerson? They look too much alike to be sure) chuckles. “Let’s head on back. Malcolm, you, Si, Em, and I have some business to talk, but not ‘til after we’re stuffed.” Jack and Emmerson lead the crew around to the back of the house, Laney walking with Inara and baby Abram, cooing over her little nephew. He’s refusing to go to her, but is perfectly charming and talkative if he stays in Mama’s arms. Hannah brings up the rear with Malcolm, walking slowly, hand on her back. “Welcome back to the river, Mally.” Mal is suddenly lost in pulling pigtails and finding toads. He grins, though a little embarrassed, at the nickname. “Brat,” he says, throwing an arm around his older cousin. “No one calls me that, Hannah Stokes. You look fit to pop. Now if you’re a good Reynolds-Stokes, this is what? Number seven?” “Ha! Three, thank you very much. Hopin’ for a girl. Only got the two boys now.” “I think the one’s all I can handle. And even then, it’s mostly ‘Nara,” Mal admits. The years have melted away, and it’s his last summer on the river. He’s seventeen, Hannah’s nineteen, and they’re walking back from church, talking about nothing important. “Pretty little wife you found yourself, Mal. You ain’t the same man who was here for the funeral.” “No, can’t say I am. Not quite sure how it happened, but know it’s got somethin’ to do with that whole crew up there. Even the loud, obnoxious one.” “Not easy, bein’ back, is it? Don’t lie to me, Mally. I’ve always been able to read you like a book. Like that last summer, when I caught you sneakin’ back from the dock, just about the same time Josie Chen’s boat was leavin’.” “Hey, now!” Mal objects. “That was totally innocent. And save the teenage Mal stories, huh? Got a reputation to uphold. And a wife could kill me if she wanted.” They round the corner to chaos, a familiar scene on this plantation. His Uncle Silas and several other younger men are gathered around a row of large pots full of boiling shrimp, corn, potatoes, and sausage, if Mal remembers anything about these boils. Children are running around playing tag and ball, some fighting over the trio of wooden swings that hang from the three oaks closest to the house. Mal watches Kacey escape from Zoe and Wash, chasing after a red ball with a couple of other children his age. Little Leila Lee Tam, all blonde hair and bright blue eyes, pulls Simon immediately to one of the swings recently vacated as the older children begin a game of freeze tag. “That Rachel?” Mal asks, a little bit of shock in his voice, as he points to a young woman helping set up the serving table, sandy brown hair pulled in a loose ponytail. “Yep,” Hannah answers, laughing at his recognition of the youngest Reynolds cousin. “Grown up a little, huh? Twenty-two, last birthday. Engaged to a boy from up the river. Uncle Em’s still deciding if he likes him or not.” There’s a commotion over by the pots and then one of the younger men hollers: “Dinner’s on!” The contents of the four pots are dumped onto the paper-covered serving table, the children dashing over to be first in line.

***

This is the most amazing food she’s had in years, Kaylee decides half-way through her first plate. Her decision remains unchanged at the end of her fourth. The sun’s set, and frogs and bugs are beginning to sing down by the river. Many of the younger children have been herded into one of the nearby houses to sleep. Doesn’t really matter which one, one of Mal’s cousins tells her, they all sleep everywhere during the summer and on weekends, lines of bunk beds fill a room in each house, apparently. The older children are down on the dock with flashlights and sparklers. Polly, Mal’s cousin, mother to ten-year-old James and seven-year-old Emma, tells her they are probably telling ghost stories and daring each other to jump off of the dock. Lolly is asleep, too, curled up in Simon’s arms beside Kaylee at the picnic table. Across the table, Kacey is conked out in Zoe’s lap, a little bit of drool starting to hang. Emma, Polly’s younger child, has refused to be herded to bed with the babies, but is starting to drift, head on the table while Polly rubs her back and talks to the Tams and Washburns. River has run off with the older children, telling her own ghost stories that delight and terrify them. Jayne’s drunk a little too much and is telling scandalous stories to a few Mal’s cousins and their spouses at another table. They seem to be the younger cousins, in their twenties. The cousins more Mal’s age are sitting at yet another table, behind Kaylee, a bottle of wine shared between them and their parents, telling old stories and shared jokes, talking business and weather and growing seasons. Inara is among them, at Laney’s side. The matriarch has wanted to learn everything about her nephew’s wife, and Inara is answering as diplomatically as possible while learning as much as she can about Mal’s family and their way of life. Mal’s family is enamored with Inara, but that doesn’t surprise Kaylee. Inara’s always been able to charm anyone. Abram is not with her, which is a mite surprising considering his recent moods, nor is Mal nearby. He’s probably escaped with the infant, though Kaylee doesn’t know where, nor does she care as Simon puts his free arm around her. She puts her head on his shoulder, brushing a blond strand of hair from Lolly’s sleep-warmed face. Wash is telling another funny story, and everyone present laughs. “Mally did not!” Polly cries, tears in her eyes from laughter. Zoe starts laughing at that one. “Mally?” Simon asks. “This is too good. That might need to come out next time our illustrious captain is in one of his oh-so-charming moods.” “Cap’n’ll kill you,” Zoe warns, still laughing. “But ah, the momentary humor is worth the risk,” Wash argues. “I’ll risk death and call him Mally.” “I don’t know, Wash. Might should be me,” Kaylee grins, “You’re not so safe now that River can fly, too.” “Mal’s too scared of Zoe to put Wash out of the airlock,” Simon counters. There is hollering from the dock house, then a series of splashes and laughter. Polly sighs and stands, along with a few other women from the table behind Kaylee. “James! You jump in that river?” The other women likewise call for their children. A chorus of “No’ am” returns from the dock house among splashing and scurrying. “Nice try!” Laney calls, “All of y’all get your bums up here this instant.” The children and River all run back to the picnic tables, every one of them soaked to the bone and sporting bright smiles. “Shower off and get in bed,” the matriarch orders. “Y’all know the rules about that dock after dark.” “But Miss River was there,” the oldest of the children, Hannah’s thirteen-year-old son, defends, “She’s an adult.” Simon stands, handing Lolly off to Kaylee gently and going to collect his sister. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Stokes…” Simon starts. “No, Ben’s got a point. They didn’t break the rules. Still, were right sneaky. Get to bed, all of ya.” “Yes, ma’am,” they chorus in response, breaking apart to say goodnight to their parents and grandparents and Miss River before disappearing into one of the neighboring houses. They murmur amongst themselves, disappointed that they have no opportunity to sleep down in the dock house tonight. “You need a shower too, Miss River?” Laney asks, “We’ve got plenty of bathrooms.” “We should be headin’ back to Serenity for the night anyway, Mrs. Stokes,” Zoe, Kacey curled on her shoulder, says, standing. “We have room for you here,” Laney counters, blue eyes bright in the firelight of the torches lines around the yard. “No need to sleep on the ship when we have real beds and real food here. You’re not gonna refuse our hospitality, are ya?” The idea of a real bed has Kaylee practically salivating already. “That would be real shiny, Zoe. Kacey and Lolly’ve never slept in beds weren’t bolted down.” “Not my call. It’s the captain’s.” “Speaking of whom, where is Mal?” Inara asks.

TBC